‘Whole club is a joke’: Cornes slams ‘absolute embarrassment’ Eagles for pre-game drama

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes has unloaded on the West Coast Eagles, labelling the club “an absolute embarrassment” for its pre-match selection drama and thumping defeat at the hands of cross-town rivals Fremantle.

With players set on the field, the first bounce was delayed as AFL officials went to West Coast’s bench and approached Hough – who was in full playing kit ready to go on.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Simpson explained the shock reason why Hough was such a late omission – after the young defender had failed to train all week.

“He’s been ill all week. He (had) come to the Captain’s Run and trained away from the group but he was feeling pretty good,” the coach explained.

“Just a flu. He has Ventolin. He took too many puffs (from his inhaler) on game day and I think there’s a level you can go to before it becomes too many and he was unaware of how many you can take.

“I think he merely mentioned it or the docs quizzed him a little bit on the warm up on the ground.

“To the docs credit, they worked out if he plays, he might be over (the limit allowed by AFL standards).

“We didn’t want to take the risk so we had to pull him.

“Six is the limit you can have of puffs.

“I am speaking a little bit out of school because I don’t know the complete detail but he had more than six today.”

Cornes said the situation was emblematic of a team lacking on all fronts, pulling no punches in his assessment of the situation.

“The whole thing is laughable. The whole club is a joke, they’re an absolute embarrassment,” he said on Channel Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.

“Last week it was not getting your structures in your situations right with a minute to go and not knowing what was going on. This week it is the amateurish vision and the explanation.

“This is Brady Hough, this isn’t Chris Judd. If he hasn’t trained all week, don’t play him. Select a fit player.”

West Coast suffered its worst loss in a Western Derby, with the triple-digit margin a sobering return to type for a side that led Essendon last week before ultimately losing.

Cornes said it spoke to the club’s shortcomings on and off the field, with coach Adam Simpson again in the firing line.

“The standards of that footy club for three years have been that far removed from what an AFL club should be and there’s just another example,” he said.

“No coach in world sport would survive a record like this.

“I’m just waiting for something to give at that footy club because right now, the only person that’s paid the price for three years of mediocrity is their fitness man.”

Simpson said it was an honest mistake made by the young Eagle, who has played 14 games this season.

“It’s almost like he’d be fine to play tomorrow but on game day there’s rules and he was unaware,” Simpson said.

“When we were aware of it… the docs did a great job.

“Running the risk of playing when you could potentially be over, there’s pretty big ramifications.

“He didn’t know. I hope you guys treat this the right way – he made a mistake.

“It wasn’t deliberate. It was nothing sinister – he was crook all week.

“It just threw us out of whack a little bit.”

Teammate Elliot Yeo said he and others on the ground had no idea what was unfolding on the bench as they stood in the middle of the ground.

“We just saw Houghy was on the bench – we didn’t really know what was going on,” he said.

“Still don’t really know what’s going on either.

“I haven’t really heard anything at this stage. I haven’t seen him (Hough).”

Hough was the second late out for the Eagles after Jack Petruccelle was pulled from the final team.

“Petch had tonsillitis as of lunch time today… had to get pulled out late,” Simpson said.

“I was a bit rattled myself to be honest.

“There was minute before the bounce, what do you want to do?”

Fox Footy commentators had questioned why West Coast’s decision to pull Hough from the match came so late – given he hadn’t trained all week.

But Simpson was able to clarify they still had every intention of playing Hough – until they became aware of his Ventolin usage.