FORWARDS and offence coach Chad Cornes has confirmed Jason Horne-Francis won’t play for Port Adelaide in its Saturday night match against Melbourne.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Cornes also highlighted some areas for improvement to emerge from the opening two rounds of the season, including the number of easy goals the side gave up to the Tigers.
He also spoke of his admiration for forward Todd Marshall as the forward prepares to play his 100th AFL game and of the goal kicking program he has implemented in the off-season to improve the side’s accuracy in front of goal.
Chad Cornes on Port Adelaide’s season so far and what needs to improve:
“Two strong wins, which is, we've seen some really good signs, but obviously, a fair bit to work on too, but you’d take two and zero to be the position we are on the ladder, sets us up for a really testing next month against some real high-quality opposition.
“We hadn't kicked a score like that at the MCG since I think 2016. I think last year, we were averaging around the 80 point mark at the MCG, so to get around 120 that was positive. Similar to the defence, we saw some good signs, but probably gave up a few too many easy goals and goals that we don't normally give up. So that will be a focus in the team review. All in all, there's been some really good stuff.”
Chad Cornes on the work being put into goal kicking to improve the side’s accuracy:
“Just so all the supporters out there know, and understand the goal kicking program, it's probably been the biggest focus for us in the offseason. We couldn't have done more work on it. We've spoken to experts in the field, we've implemented a really strong program, which we believe works really well. There's obviously been some ups and downs in the first couple of games, but I think the positive on the weekend was in the second half to kick I think it was 13 goals five, from where we were at halftime shows the boys went back to the process stuck to the process for the majority of that second half and we got good results. There'll be some teething issues with this new program, as there always is when you implement something new, but the coaches and players fully believe in this program so supporters just stick with us, we're really confident we'll see great results as the season progresses.”
Chad Cornes on preparing for a Melbourne side that will be missing Steven May and potentially Jake Lever in the backline:
“Obviously two great players. I think they both played when we played last year, and we were without Todd, and Charlie in that game. Forwards that played in that game just really provided a great contest in the air and we were really strong at ground level, so despite who's there, there'll be quality defenders. They're a great defensive team Melbourne, one of the best in the AFL and I think to this stage are keeping (opposition) to the lowest score on average across the league.
“If May is not there which looks likely you probably expect Leaver to play. He’s a tough guy that can push through injury. It's going to be a really tough challenge.”
Chad Cornes on Todd Marshall, leading into the forward’s 100th AFL game:
“I think I've gone on record with you guys to express my love for Todd, as a person, and as a player. I've learned a lot off him on how to deal with adversity and not just adversity you know, like having an injury here and there, what he's had to deal with in his family life. Not many people at that age have gone through that and the way he's handled that has been exceptional.
“He's just one of the great teammates we all love, from coaches, players, supporters alike. (Travis) Boaky’s milestone was huge. This one's going to be huge in a different way. I’m really proud of what he's done. He continues to improve. And… hopefully as the season progresses, he can make that forward line his… It's probably time for someone else to relieve some of that pressure off Charlie.”
Chad Cornes on Jason Horne-Francis’ chances of playing on Saturday night after missing last week with a hamstring strain:
“He did some more tests this morning and hasn't come up as well as we'd obviously hoped, which hamstrings can do, so very doubtful that he'll play this week.
“It's the first time he's done a soft tissue injury, so he wasn't sure what that was last week. He just thought it was a bit of DOMS... a bit of soreness after the game, but actually (there was) a little bit more there. I don't think it's serious. But with hamstrings, you don't want to rush them back too quickly. Hopefully he plays next week.”
Chad Cornes on his early impressions of new recruits Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, Ivan Soldo, Esava Ratugolea and Jordon Sweet:
“Zerk-Thatcher I hadn't seen a lot of him play, if I'm being honest. So, I didn't really know what to expect when he came to the footy club. But you can tell from day one, the way he trains against the forwards, how he loves beating them up and how physical he was at training. He's just transferred that into games, and he's one of those guys that you'd hate to play on in game. The job he did on (Tom) Lynch, he probably couldn't have done it better. He's been outstanding as the rest of the guys like Ivan (Soldo) - that's what we need in that ruck. He's leading that midfield really well. Esava (Ratugolea) is doing some great things down back and we haven't seen (Jordon) Sweetie play yet but how he trains and how he's played in the SANFL so far, gives us great hope that when he does get an opportunity he'll perform really strongly.”
Chad Cornes on having three games in Adelaide in-a-row:
“It's a bit of a cliche, but you don't really look too far ahead. These days it is very much one week at a time, which I found once I started coaching. You just can't afford to look too far ahead because if you take your eye off the ball of what's upcoming in the current week, you can't get too far ahead of yourself but it's it is great to be home for three weeks. Obviously, you know how much we love playing at Adelaide Oval so to be able to settle here in South Australia for a period of time, get some good training in, hopefully playing at a packed Adelaide across the next few weeks is really exciting for us.
“We went through some stats when we were away on the weekend just how good our travel record is. I think we won the second most games interstate over the last three or four years. I think that's what Kenny (Hinkley) told us, so we love traveling. They're a really connected group that like getting away with each other but you can't beat playing at home at a packed Adelaide Oval.”
