Kane Cornes has responded to the backlash from Kate Jesaulenko and Eddie McGuire after he labelled Alex Jesaulenko's legendary mark in the 1970 Grand Final "overrated".
A fired up Kate Jesaulenko toldย SENย on Wednesday night that Cornes' comments were "disgraceful."
โAnnoyed I donโt think is the word,โ she said on SENโs Bob and Andy.
โIโm absolutely furious that Kane Cornes would come out and say dadโs mark was overrated โ I find it disgusting and disgraceful.
โI cannot believe that he would come out and make such a comment not only of an iconic footballer, but an iconic father and an iconic husband โ I am beside myself; I just cannot believe it."
Speaking on Channel 9's Footy Classified later that night, McGuire doubled down on Jesaulenko's criticism.
โIโm sick of the South Australians, and particularly the Cornes family, denigrating anything good thatโs from the VFL and the AFL,โ McGuire said.
โCome on, Kane. Mate, thatโs like saying the Mona Lisa is just a painting. Itโs like saying the Statue of David is just a sculpture. Itโs like saying Shakespeare was just a playwright.
โIโll tell you why itโs the greatest mark of all-time, because 121,696 people were seeing Collingwood kill Carlton at that stage until Jesaulenko took that mark and then framed the biggest comeback in the history of the game in the most seminal match ever played.
โIt put my club away for 20 years. Jezzaโs mark, and the rest of his game, was the stuff of folklore. It was why kids of my generation said โJezza!โ every time they jumped for a ball.
โCome on, Kane, youโve got the feel of a tax auditor, the sense of occasion of a parking inspector, and the sense of romance of a Tinder dater.โ
Not that Cornes is phased by any of this. Speaking on SA SEN radioย this morning, the Port Adelaide games record holder said the criticism of his views were an overreaction.
โโIt was disgracefulโ โ oh my goodness. She should look at my Twitter timeline every day,โ Cornes toldย SEN SA Breakfast.
โIf she thinks that saying โoverratedโ is โdisgracefulโ, Kate needs to have a look at my Twitter or have a look at some other things happening.
โOverrated, I wouldnโt have thought, was a disgraceful comment. But, anyway, I understand families get emotional and he is an icon of the game.
โIt was nothing ever personal to Jesaulenko, who is an AFL legend, thereโs no doubt about that.
โBut just the mark (is overrated). Iโll continue to say that for Eddie (McGuire) and for Kateโs sake, once again, for the 15th time.โ
Responding to McGuire, Cornes maintained his view that the mark itself is overrated, not the theatre of the moment.
โI donโt really disagree with anything Eddie said โ other than the fact where he said itโs the greatest mark of all time,โ Cornes said.
โThe occasion, the moment, what it means for AFL football, the kids running around saying โJesaulenko, you beautyโ, that is all true.
โIf you put the mark and you get rid of the commentary and you get rid of the fact that it was played in a Grand Final in front of 120,000 and you put it up against 15 of Jeremy Howeโs marks with no sound โฆ the actual mark itself is overrated.
โIโll stand by that until Iโm blue in the face.โ
