‘Had no right’: Cornes lauds Power’s gutsy win

Port Adelaide legend Kane Cornes believes the Power had “no right” to win their semi-final thriller with the Hawks.
Hawthorn mounted a fightback to fall short by three points on Friday night.
Following the match, Cornes took to X, stating that the Power “had no right” to finish 11.9 (75) to 11.6 (72) winners at Adelaide Oval.
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Explaining his post on Nine’s AFL Sunday Footy Show, Cornes believed that the odds were stacked against Port Adelaide leading into the do-or-die clash.
“Well that didn’t [have a right to win],” he said.
“I just think that with the way Hawthorn was playing as the best team in it statistically since round eight or nine [and] with the momentum [Port] had coming off an 84-point loss, no [Ryan] Burton, no [Kane] Farrell, no [Dan] Houston in their defence to shift the magnets.
“They had Charlie Dixon who was selected but then withdrew. They had Todd Marshall who has hardly played and is not ready to be at the level. They’ve got a young player in [Will] Lorenz coming in late for his second game.
“There were just so many factors going against them and so many factors in the favour of Hawthorn, including some really questionable umpiring decisions which led to goals that changed the momentum of the game.
“They had no right to win this game of footy.”
Cornes also equated the match to the Power’s 2004 grand final victory — the club’s maiden premiership.
“I’ve got it right up there, like right up there in terms of historical performances,” he said.
“What does it mean? Well not a whole lot but it’s better than going out in straight sets.
“They’re are going to have to do it again against a really good side in Sydney.
“But for Ken Hinkley to move the magnets to shut Hawthorn down against all odds when he really was coaching for his career.
“I just thought it was an enormous performance.”
Addressing Hinkley’s fiery post-match exchange with Jack Ginnivan and James Sicily, Cornes believed the situation had been blown out of proportion.
“I think it’s been one of the great overreactions I’ve ever seen,” he said.
“It was not aggressive, it wasn’t threatening. He said, ‘You’re not flying anywhere, Jack’.”