Kane Cornes has blasted the AFL’s decision to withhold player weights from the official 2024 season guide, declaring “the world has gone so soft”.
Cornes revealed the information on SEN Afternoons on Friday before AFL Record editor Ash Browne revealed that it was a new AFL policy not to reveal player weights.
“They’ve decided in this day and age it is inappropriate for weights to public matter, in a publication like the season guide,” Browne said.
“They would say that people support that it’s not appropriate to publish weights and that it’s private information now.”
The move brings the AFL into line with the AFLW, which already doesn’t publish the information.
But the decision has gone down like a lead balloon for Port Adelaide 300-gamer Cornes, who savaged the decision, arguing that the player’s body is their job and should be public information.
“Remember in 2021 the AFL banned perspective draftees from getting their skinfolds done at the draft combine for mental health reasons and treading carefully with the younger generation,” Cornes said.
“That was scrapped much to the disgust of many club recruiters.
“I can reveal to you this afternoon that the AFL Season Guide is out … the AFL has stopped including player weight.
“The world has gone so soft that I can’t believe it.
“You’re a professional athlete. You’re not an influencer on social media. Any other sport I can look that up. I wanted to look up the average weight of an NFL player and I can tell you that it’s 245 pounds or 111kg. I can tell you that one of the most famous tight ends at the moment Travis Kelce was 113kg. I can tell you his quarterback Patrick Mahomes weighs 102kg.
“No longer in my role as a commentator can I go and say Jake Lever is playing on Charlie Curnow, Curnow has an 8kg advantage – he should take him deep to the goalsquare, try and get him in one-on-one situations and try to use his 8kg advantage in one-on-one duels and Carlton can use that an exploit that.
“I can’t do that anymore because the AFL have said that we are that soft that we can’t include player weights in the bible. I don’t know where this is going to lead to.
“Are they going to ban us from knowing that Caleb Daniel is 168cm? He could easily be offended by being one of the shortest AFL players in the game.
“What about Nick Watson, there’s been a lot of debate about the new Hawthorn recruit with pick No. 5 in the lead up to last years’ draft. He’s 17, 18 years of age and we’re debating whether he’s too small to be taking top 10 of the draft and whether Hawthorn should or anyone should use a really high end pick on a player who is 170cm. How would that affect his mental health in his last year of schooling? It didn’t seem to bother him, in fact I’ve spoken to him about it, he loves it. What is going on?”
The AFL’s move has lead to debate over the issue.
West Coast 2018 premiership winner turned broadcaster Will Schofield hit out at the decision, tweeting: “This is a complete embarrassment. Why? What’s the reason ????”
Asked how it effects him, Schofield agreed with Cornes’ take.
“When working on games – sometimes adds some context to match-ups, one-on-one contests, changes from year to year for new players … Lots really…,” but he also conceded to another commenter that the details are “always wrong”.
Broadcaster Graeme Goodings tweeted: “Seriously? I thought this was a joke but sadly no it’s not. The AFL will no longer reveal players weight ‘it’s not appropriate to publish weights, it’s private information now.’ Better stop height information too for the vertically challenged.”
6 News Australia writer Matthew Davis added: “AFL is a high contact sport. Weight is important for doctors and dietitians at the club, but the AFL is a business, and players weight, height, agility ect is all important for other clubs, fantasy teams, fans.”
But there were plenty of others who argued that the move was not a big deal, considering weight fluctuated across the season and even throughout a game.
ABC’s Brett Sprigg posted: “I promise you the publishing or not publishing of footy players’ weights is absolutely not as big of a deal as you think it is.”
6 News Australia’s Aidan Edgecomb commented: “Don’t follow the AFL but don’t see an issue here. Someone’s weight should be private and up to them if they want it posted all over the internet.
“I see no reason a fan needs to know an AFL players weight. Athletes can 100 per cent have body image issues too.”
Social media user Todd Davey wrote: “I genuinely couldn’t care less about whether they display AFL players’ weight or not, but I’m genuinely surprised so many think it’s a huge issue to no longer share it.
“Players literally weigh differently at the start of a game compared to the end.”
