| Graham Cornes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Graham Studley CornesOAM | ||
| Date of birth | (1948-03-31)31 March 1948 (age 76) | ||
| Place of birth | Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Ruck Rover,Centre half-forward | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1967–82 | Glenelg | 317 (339) | |
| 1979 | North Melbourne | 5 (10) | |
| 1983–84 | South Adelaide | 47 (42) | |
| Total | 369 (391) | ||
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| South Australia | 21 (?) | ||
| Coaching career | |||
| Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
| 1983–84 | South Adelaide | 46 (25–21–0) | |
| 1985–90 | Glenelg | 149 (94–54–1) | |
| 1986–1999 | South Australia | 11 (9–2–0) | |
| 1991–94 | Adelaide | 89 (43–45–1) | |
| Total | 395 (171–122–2) | ||
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1994. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
SANFL
Representative
Overall
Coaching
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Graham Studley CornesOAM (born 31 March 1948 inMelbourne, Victoria) is a formerAustralian rules footballer and coach, as well as a media personality. From 1995 until early 2013, Cornes co-hosted a weekday drivetime sports program that he hosts on Adelaide radio station5AA, first withKen "KG" Cunningham and, following Cunningham's retirement in 2008, withStephen Rowe. In 2012 he was inducted into theAustralian Football Hall of Fame.[1]
Cornes is also aVietnam veteran, having served as an infantry soldier with the7th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment in 1968.
Cornes was a champion with theGlenelg Football Club in theSANFL, between 1967 and 1982. He played mostly atRuck Rover in theSANFL andcentre half-forward.[2] In his 317[3] club games for Glenelg he kicked 339 goals and won the club best and fairest award three times. He captained Glenelg in 1978 and was a member of the premiership team in 1973, taking a spectacular mark in the last minutes of the game and calmly kicking the goal to regain the lead.
In 1977 Cornes took a memorable spectacular mark against Norwood which is captured in Jamie Cooper's paintingthe Game That Made Australia, commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.[4]
Cornes signed with theVFL'sSouth Melbourne inVictoria early in his career, but stayed in South Australia. He made his VFL debut at the age of 31 in 1979 and played five games withRon Barassi'sNorth Melbourne before returning to South Australia after he was dropped from the team. Most South Australians thought that he was played out of position in the VFL having made his name in South Australia as a Ruck Rover.
As playing coach withSouth Adelaide he played 47 games in 1983–1984.[citation needed]
Cornes represented South Australia 21 times, including as captain in 1978. He was selected in theAll-Australian team in 1979 and 1980, winning theTassie Medal in 1980 and theSimpson Medal in 1979.[citation needed] playing as a Ruck Rover.
Cornes was the playing coach ofSouth Adelaide in 1983 and 1984, finishing fifth both years. He then retired as a player, but returned to Glenelg in 1985 as coach. He had an immediate impact, winning premierships in 1985 and 1986 and also taking them to three losing Grand Finals in 1987, 1988 and 1990.
Cornes had a very good record inState of Origin matches, boasting nine wins from eleven matches including six wins from eight matches coaching the South Australia team against Victoria. He was theAll-Australian coach in 1987 and 1988.
In 1991, Cornes was appointed the inaugural senior coach of theAdelaide Football Club in their first year in theAFL. The Crows in its inaugural year under Cornes finished ninth at the end of1991 season and ninth again at the end of the1992 season.[5] Cornes guided the Crows to their first finals appearance in1993, where they finished third at the end of the 1993 season.[5] They made it to the preliminary final againstEssendon and led at half-time by 42 points. But inspired by the brilliance ofMichael Long, the Bombers mounted an amazing comeback to win the game by 11 points. However, the Crows finished eleventh in1994 and at the end of the season, Cornes was replaced byRobert Shaw because the club wanted a new coach.[5][6]
| Team | Year | Home and Away Season | Finals | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Drew | % | Position | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| ADE | 1991 | 10 | 12 | 0 | .455 | 9th out of 15 | — | — | — | — |
| ADE | 1992 | 11 | 11 | 0 | .500 | 9th out of 15 | — | — | — | — |
| ADE | 1993 | 12 | 8 | 0 | .600 | 5th out of 15 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Lost toEssendon in Preliminary Final |
| ADE | 1994 | 9 | 12 | 1 | .432 | 11th out of 15 | — | — | — | — |
| Total | 42 | 43 | 1 | .494 | 1 | 2 | .333 | |||
Cornes is now a football media personality, having appeared on theSeven Network's football coverage during the 1990s, and co hosting theFIVEaa Sports Show with, firstK. G. Cunningham from 1995 to 2008, and then former Adelaide Crow Stephen Rowe, 2009 to April 2013. Since retirement he has hosted a conversations program, "Conversations with Cornesy", and is also back with K. G Cunningham on FIVE aa's Saturday Morning Sports Show. He has been a long-timeNews Limited columnist. He has also coached the All Stars in anE. J. Whitten Legends Game.Cornes was also the centrepiece ofCornesy's Allstar Rock Band (formerly known as the 5AA Rock-n-Roll Allstars), in which he plays guitar and does some vocals. Other members of this Adelaide-based band are Greg Mallen, Simon Wilson, David Heath, Dean Fioretti, Travis and Rob Dragani, and "Polly" Politis.In 2007, Cornes argued for the return of State of Origin in Australian football. He cited the success of the annualNew South Wales–Queensland series in the National Rugby League (NRL) and blamed the narrow-mindedness of clubs and coaches for undermining the concept in Australian football.[8]
Cornes' sonsChad andKane became players for thePort Adelaide Football Club in the AFL. He has been married three times,[9] currently married toNicole Cornes, whom he met when she was a secretary at radio station 5AA.[10] Cornes and his wife have three daughters: Amy (1994), Charlize (2004) and Gia (2009).
In 1968, he was drafted under theNational Service Act 1964 and served in Vietnam as an infantry soldier with the7th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment. He remains active with several veterans groups.
Cornes does not drink alcohol.[11]
