'Not good enough': Kane Cornes' savage spray after AFL finals 'disaster'

Former Port Adelaide star Kane Cornes has accused Adam Treloar of "spitting the dummy" and "giving up" during his side's nailbiting AFL finals victory against Brisbane over the weekend.

Treloar has come under fire from prominent past players in the media over his perceived poor body language in the one-point semi-final win over the Brisbane Lions.

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The Bulldogs ace tallied just 10 disposals, which was the normally prolific ball-winner's lowest return in 15 matches in Dogs colours, following his high-profile move from Collingwood at the end of last year.

Kangaroos legend David King labelled it a "disaster" of a finals performance.

Treloar will no doubt be required to have a much bigger impact if the Dogs are to upset the Power at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night, with captain Marcus Bontempelli still in doubt with a knee injury.

The 28-year-old is one of several players in a deep on-ball division who would be required to play more midfield minutes if Bontempelli is ruled out.

Former St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt was particularly critical of Treloar's body language during his side's thrilling win over Brisbane at the Gabba.

"We're all massive fans of Adam Treloar and the way he goes about it, but there were countless times on the weekend where he almost seemed not quite there," Riewoldt said on Fox Footy on Monday night.

"When he didn't quite get there, you could just see the disappointment written all over his face and in his body language with the way he was going about the contest."

Cornes took his criticism of Treloar even further when discussing the matter on Channel Nine's Footy Classified, where he claimed the star's attitude and performance was "not good enough".

“He looks like a player who has spat the dummy a little bit because he’s not playing midfield,” Cornes told Footy Classified.

“Some of these examples we saw on the weekend, it’s quite concerning a for a player who has an opportunity to win a premiership. It’s not good enough for a player like that.”

Cornes referenced a moment in the match when Treloar stopped giving chase after being wrong-footed by Brisbane's Deven Robertson while trying to put on defensive pressure.

“This is the worst one. You can’t give up in a final. He’s given up there,” Cornes said.

Bulldogs tip Adam Treloar to step up

Despite all the criticism of Treloar, Bulldogs teammate Jack Macrae has backed the out-of-sorts star to bounce back in their AFL preliminary final against Port Adelaide.

"The form that (Treloar) was in in the first 10 weeks of the season before he hurt his ankle was some of the best footy that he's ever played and he was just amazing for our team, so I'm backing him to get back into that form," Macrae said.

"He's been a class player his whole career and you don't just lose that overnight.

"We're all going to back him in to get back to his best and hopefully that comes Saturday night."

Treloar could be part of a Western Bulldogs midfield shake-up if Bontempelli is ruled out with a knee injury that saw him come off late against the Lions on Saturday night.

Brownlow Medal fancy Bontempelli hurt his right knee in the final few minutes against Brisbane but is considered a chance to play against Port.

The second-year captain will be given every chance to prove his fitness.

"He's pulled up pretty well," Macrae said.

"We've got training today and Thursday so we'll see how the week pans out and we're still quite a long way away from the game on Saturday night.

"It's a great result initially that there's no structural damage or anything like that."

The Bulldogs are temporarily based in Perth and will travel to Adelaide on Friday to prepare for their first preliminary final since their famous 2016 victory over GWS.

with AAP

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