AFL great Kane Cornes has teed off at the NRL the morning after Penrith’s historic fourth-straight premiership, labelling rugby league a “shocking sport”.
On Sunday night, the Panthers became the first team in the NRL era to win four successive grand finals, and the first since St George Illawarra in the 1950s and ‘60s.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Kane Cornes tees off on NRL grand final.
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It was an enthralling contest that saw the inexorable three-time defending champions come back after conceding the first try of the game.
But Cornes clearly didn’t see it that way, speaking the next morning on AFL Trade Radio.
“The NRL grand final… it’s just a shocking sport. I’ve said this for a while now,” he said.
“Now, I really admire the physicality of the players, how tough they are — all of that.
“But tell me if there was one highlight. Was there one single highlight in a whole game of NRL?
“There’s not even a full stadium there. It’s so repetitive.”
Tickets to the grand final were still on sale just hours before kickoff, as a number of people pointed out on social media.
“It’s 3.57pm on NRL grand final day and I can still easily buy a ticket to the game. An 82,000 seat stadium not sold out for the big dance,” Jack Fulham said.
“Last weekend 100,000 filled the MCG for (the) AFL grand final and you could have sold another 100k tickets (for an all interstate match up).
“Don’t tell me the NRL is winning the code war when they can’t sell out the stadium. The two best teams of the modern era going head to head too.”
Trade Radio co-host Sam Edmund was equally baffled.
“How could they not sell it out? I was staggered by that. There were still tickets available for $55 before the game,” Edmund said.
Cornes added: “Bizarre. It would have rated its socks off, so don’t get me wrong.
“I was watching the second half. But not one highlight in the game of games for the whole season.”
The Port Adelaide premiership player also complained about the scoring in the game, or lack thereof, as Penrith grounded out a 6-14 win.
Edmund responded: “I think to be fair this game was always going to be a defensive grind.
“They’re both strong defensive teams. Which, as we’ve seen in our game, can be absorbing.”
The comments predictably went down like a lead balloon in the NRL world, which didn’t miss with its response.
“Who are these f****** idiots,” NRL reporter Tony Adams said.
Cornes’s own employer, SEN, responded on its Sydney account: “At least our grand final was competitive.
“Stick to blowing up about long-term contracts and speculating about trading VFL players Kaneo.”
Brendan Johnson joked: “Bad news lads, professional imbecile Kane Cornes doesn’t like rugby league, we may as well pack it in now.”
The comments were essentially a carbon copy of former NRL champion Willie Mason’s opinions on the AFL grand final in reverse from the previous week.
“I went down there for the AFL grand final, expecting what everyone’s talking about, right? ‘Oh, it’s the best day’,” Mason said last week.
“Probably the worst major event I’ve ever been to.
“There was 100,000 people there, I’m like 25 minutes in going, ‘This is f****** boring’.
“I think it would have been better if it was a great grand final, but it was over by quarter-time. I was bored shitless.”