Graham Cornes
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Graham Studley Cornes OAM (born 31 March 1948 in
Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
) is a former
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
er 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 station
5AA FIVEAA (pronounced ''Five Double A'') is Adelaide's only commercial Talk radio, talkback radio station. The station has a range of programs including news, sports, current affairs, social issues, football calls, gardening, lifestyle, cars, trave ...
, first with Ken "KG" Cunningham and, following Cunningham's retirement in 2008, with Stephen Rowe. In 2012 he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame. Cornes is also a Vietnam veteran, having served as an infantry soldier with the 7th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment in 1968.


Playing career

Cornes was a champion with the Glenelg Football Club in the
SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...
, between 1967 and 1982. He played mostly at Ruck Rover in the
SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...
and centre half-forward. In his 317 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 painting ''the Game That Made Australia'', commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport. Cornes signed with the VFL's South Melbourne in Victoria 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 with Ron Barassi's
North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...
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 with South Adelaide he played 47 games in 1983–1984. Cornes represented South Australia 21 times, including as captain in 1978. He was selected in the
All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...
in 1979 and 1980, winning the Tassie Medal in 1980 and the Simpson Medal in 1979. playing as a Ruck Rover.


Coaching career

Cornes was the playing coach of South 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 in State of Origin matches, boasting nine wins from eleven matches including six wins from eight matches coaching the South Australia team against Victoria. He was the
All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...
coach in 1987 and 1988. In 1991, Cornes was appointed the inaugural senior coach of the Adelaide Football Club in their first year in the AFL. The Crows in its inaugural year under Cornes finished ninth at the end of 1991 season and ninth again at the end of the 1992 season. Cornes guided the Crows to their first finals appearance in
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
, where they finished third at the end of the 1993 season. They made it to the preliminary final against and led at half-time by 42 points. But inspired by the brilliance of Michael Long, the Bombers mounted an amazing comeback to win the game by 11 points. However, the Crows finished eleventh in
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
and at the end of the season, Cornes was replaced by Robert Shaw because the club wanted a new coach.


Head coaching record

:


Post-football

Cornes is now a football media personality, having appeared on the
Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
's football coverage during the 1990s, and co hosting the FIVEaa Sports Show with, first K. 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-time
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columnist. He has also coached the All Stars in an E. J. Whitten Legends Game. Cornes was also the centrepiece of ''Cornesy'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 annual New 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.


Personal life

Cornes' sons
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
and Kane became players for the
Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where it is nicknamed the ...
in the AFL. He has been married three times, currently married to Nicole Cornes, whom he met when she was a secretary at radio station 5AA. Cornes and his wife have three daughters: Amy (1994), Charlize (2004) and Gia (2009). In 1968, he was drafted under the National Service Act 1964 and served in Vietnam as an infantry soldier with the 7th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment. He remains active with several veterans groups. Cornes does not drink alcohol.


See also

* 1977 SANFL Grand Final


References


External links

*
Graham Cornes' Army Service Record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornes, Graham Glenelg Football Club players South Adelaide Football Club players North Melbourne Football Club players 1948 births Living people Australian rules football commentators Adelaide Football Club coaches Glenelg Football Club coaches South Adelaide Football Club coaches All-Australians (1953–1988) All-Australian coaches South Australian State of Origin players Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Australian rules footballers from Adelaide Graham Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Reynella Football Club players