Wayne Carey lashes out as Trent Cotchin and Joel Selwood caught in AFL 'disgrace'

AFL legend Wayne Carey has hit out at the criticism Joel Selwood and Trent Cotchin have received since stepping into the Channel 7 commentary box. The premiership captains have been targeted online for their lack of media skills, with the abuse intensifying after Kane Cornes roasted the former Tigers captain's media aptitude on Nine's The Sunday Footy Show.

Cornes - who played 300 games for Port Adelaide and won a flag in 2004 but is more well known for his divisive takes as a radio broadcaster - mocked Cotchin's inexperience as a pundit in a brutal skit on The Sunday Footy Show. The Port great made a parody of a 7Sport TikTok video that saw Cotchin talk through some vision of Collingwood's round one loss to Sydney.

Cornes showed the media rookie no respect, poking fun at his appearance and the production values of the segment. "Hi guys, Kane Cornes here, I just wanted to show you what isn't working for Hawthorn at the moment," Cornes said in a monotone voice in an attempt to mimic Cotchin's video.

"So let's take a look at the vision. In this example, you can see James Sicily with the football and he kicks it to his teammate and he marks it. His teammate doesn't quite know what to do so he decides to kick it to his teammate, who marks it as well. His teammate then kicks the ball and his teammate marks it and they play on and then he kicks it and there's another mark. And then Hawthorn kick it back and then there's another mark."

The clip went viral and the polarising figure was slammed by Tigers great Matthew Richardson, who tweeted: "Taking the piss out of two AFL premiership captains. Bar getting lower and lower". The Footy Show had also previously made fun of Geelong champion-turned-Channel 7 analyst Selwood as well, with The Herald Sun’s Mark Robinson accusing Cornes of "bullying" the pair.

Wayne Carey calls for patience with AFL greats transitioning into media roles

Carey - who joined Channel 7 following his AFL career - has hit out at Cornes and other critics of the former AFL greats, throwing his support behind them as they transition into media. "There’s been a lot of talk — I’m following on these social platforms — the negative feedback that people like Joel Selwood and legends like Luke Hodge (get), these guys are absolute legends, Trent Cotchin,” Carey said on his Truth Hurts podcast.

Carey has been ridiculed online multiple times over the years for some of his comments and said he doesn't mind when it is him but the AFL world needs to be more patient and respectful with 'absolute legends of the game' like Cotchin and Selwood. "When you’ve been on the front page and in the media as often as I have, a dingbat on social media, it is literally water off a duck’s back," Carey said.

"But when you’re talking about guys like Trent Cotchin and Joel Selwood, who are pillars and absolute legends of the game, premiership captains, premiership players, unbelievable human beings, the comments about their media performing is horrendous. It’s an absolute disgrace."

Following the skit blowing up online, Cornes doubled down on it not being a big deal, saying it was 'a bit of lighthearted fun' and there was no stopping Cotchin from doing the same to him. "If you watch the Front Bar on Channel 7, their whole show is taking the mickey out of people," he said. "So I was hoping it would be taken in the right way and 98 per cent of people I think thought it was okay. Surely we are big enough to be able to accept a bit of light-hearted fun. So Richo (Mark Richardson), lighten up."

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Wayne Carey says Brian Taylor is one of the best commentators around

Carey believes the criticism online of AFL pundits and commentators has got out of control, pointing to the abuse aimed at the likes of Channel 7's Brian Taylor. While admitting Taylor "divides opinion" he said he is amazing at his job.

"BT, he gets a lot of negative feedback too. I love BT," Carey said. "People don’t understand what a following he has so I hate the negativity around him and the job that he does because I think he’s terrific."