Kane Cornes has stood by his comments imploring Richmond young gun Sydney Stack to focus less on social media — where he’s an active user on TikTok and Instagram — and more on improving parts of his game.
Cornes’ criticism comes after reading comments from Tigers elite performance manager Peter Burge on Stack in a recent interview in the Herald Sun, saying the 21-year old “still has some work to do with consistency of preparation,” particularly around conditioning.
Stack has shown considerable promise during his 33-game AFL career, but Cornes said on Monday the young gun was currently “wasting” his abilities - comments he then defended on Tuesday.
“When you play a team sport it‘s not just about you. The commentary I heard a lot was he can do whatever he likes - well, you actually can’t in a team sport,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.
“If your behaviour starts to affect others in a negative way ... I’m not saying his TikTok use is affecting others, but I’d be surprised if there aren’t a significant number of players in the Richmond dressing room rolling their eyes at it.
“I went back and looked at some of these videos and they‘re harmless, but they’re cringeworthy. I think it’s putting yourself out there in a way above the team for your benefit.
“When it starts to negatively impact others in a team sport ... if this was Nick Kyrgios and he’s on TikTok, he can do whatever he likes, he’s in an individual sport.
“But when 40 other teammates are relying on you in the 17th minute of the fourth quarter and you don‘t deliver, questions start to be raised.
“It’s not just TikTok, this is Richmond saying it as well, this is Richmond saying his preparation isn’t in line with what we expect. That’s what they‘re saying publicly - imagine what they’re saying privately.
“It‘s not just TikTok, there’s a whole host of areas in his life clearly that he’s not being the best he possibly can be and I don’t want to see it go to waste because I’ve seen this kid play some unbelievable football and he has attributes to be a top 25 player in the AFL. At the moment, he’s wasting it.”
Stack’s off-field incidents include copping a 10-game suspension in 2020 for breaching Covid protocols after being involved in an altercation on the Gold Coast, while he spent time in Perth’s Hakea Prison later that year for breaking isolation requirements.
On Monday, Cornes said he believed the youngster’s focus on social media was inhibiting him from reaching his full potential on the football field.
“How Richmond go this year is going to be dependent on how a lot of their younger players come through,” the 300-gamer said.
“One of those is Sydney Stack. I know he wasn’t taken in the top 10 (of the 2019 draft) with Connor Rozee, Sam Walsh and Bailey Smith, but he’s in that situation of his career. He is equally as talented as any of those.... he’s lost his way a little bit for reasons that we know of.
“There’s a bit of old school in me about this. Whether someone at Richmond has done it or not, or whether the new era is to just let individuals be individuals and embrace social media.
“But there’s something in me that says, ‘Sydney, put your social media away, put your ridiculous TikTok videos away — if you’ve watched them, they’re cringeworthy, they’re embarrassing — until you get a kick’.
“He’s achieved nothing, but he has the capabilities to be a very, very good 200-game player.
“For those Richmond fans who have seen his social media videos, am I too old school to think that I could sit him down, shake him, ban him from TikTok until he gets a kick and has some success? Or is that not the way it goes now?
“That’s what they are saying publicly, that he’s got a lot of work to do. Imagine what they’re saying privately about his preparation and his endurance and his skin folds.
“What I’m worried about is he is wasting it. He’s as talented as Rozee, Walsh and Smith, but I reckon he’s wasting it.”
Asked if he feels the same way about young Bulldogs star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, who’s also a keen user of social media, Cornes said: “Very similar.”
The Power champion added he had no issues with more established players, like Patrick Dangerfield, being active on social media, but thinks younger players should be doing everything they can to maximise their development.
“Dangerfield uses social media exceptionally well and it’s not uncommon for him to be on social media on game day, it doesn’t affect his performance,” he said.
“I reckon this distraction (with Stack) is affecting performance. When your club is telling you you’ve got lots of work to do with your preparation, then you look at all things about how I cannot waste this opportunity.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/st-kilda-saints/afl-news-2021-kane-cornes-on-sydney-stack-social-media-use-instagram-tiktok/news-story/7465d8366b9f79a0d53b55ccf262110e
