Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge’s long-running feud with controversial media pundit Kane Cornes has appeared to reignite, with the pair engaging in a brief verbal stoush before the Bulldogs’ clash with Geelong on Friday night.
Cornes has been a long-term critic of Beveridge and his coaching over the years, with things intensifying in the wake of the 2016 premiership coach’s pointed rebuke of the Port Adelaide great’s criticism of Bulldogs players before their 2021 preliminary final win over the Power.
“If you’re going to fail in life, fail at something that is noble. Fail at something you can dust yourself off and be proud that you had a go,” Beveridge said at the time.
“If you’re failing at trying to pull people apart and bring people down like two or three journalists did this week, I don’t know how people around you can live with you, how they can lie in bed with you, how they can look at themselves in the mirror.”
Since then, Cornes has needed little motivation to clip Beveridge or question his coaching, including repeated claims that he is wasting the AFL’s most talented list, culminating in him being banned from appearing in the Bulldogs’ rooms.
Before the Dogs’ 14-point loss to the Cats at GMHBA Stadium, Cornes and Beveridge exchanged words as he made his way around the boundary line past where Cornes was working for Channel Seven, with the former describing the confrontation as ‘an awkward situation’.
“It was an awkward situation because he was staring at me quite strongly and I didn’t really know what to say,” he said.
“So I just said ‘g’day Bevo’ and it wasn’t received that well … I would’ve liked to have gone on with the conversation and had it respectfully, but it wasn’t the time or the place.”
“There was a confrontation, there were some words spoken … clearly the relationship between myself and the Western Bulldogs isn’t a strong one.”
Speaking on Fox Footy, former player turned commentator David King – who works with Cornes twice a week on Melbourne radio station SEN, said the confrontation is Cornes’ ‘shtick’.
“Tonight there are no winners. It makes two intelligent people look really foolish,” he added.
Beveridge refused to comment on the exchange when asked post-match by Seven football reporter Mitch Cleary.
“What incident?” he said.
“If you’re trying to drum up any controversy, I don’t think there was any. I’ve really got nothing to say.”
When pressed by Cleary, Beveridge added “I know what you’re trying to do, Mitch. You’re not going to get me to bite.”
The 16.17 (113) to 20.7 (127) defeat to the Cats leaves the Dogs with a precarious 6-5 record despite their strong form.
