Did Port Adelaide make the right call in selecting Jason Horne-Francis to play against his old club North Melbourne on Saturday?
That was the question asked by Kangaroos great David King with the 19-year-old set to face the ire of North Melbourne players and fans after the former number one pick controversially left Arden Street after one season.
Given coach Ken Hinkley has come against those targeting Horne-Francis and the midfielder himself has said his mental health has suffered as a result of the treatment he’s received from opposition fans, King asked Kane Cornes on SEN Breakfast whether the Power made the right call.
King: “Jason Horne-Francis faces up against the Kangaroos in Tasmania, which is a bit of a shame, I would have liked it to have been at Marvel to get a bit of theatre.
“Ultimately, that's what the game is about, it's an entertainment industry.
“Should they expose him to this? Given the chats that we've had over the previous couple of months about protecting the kid and looking after him and all those sorts of things.
“Should you be protecting him from that sort of abuse and booing and carry on? Or do you just get on with it?”
Cornes: “No, you've got to get on with it.
“The criticism over Jason Horne-Francis when he left was that, you know, just the slang talk, of ‘Mummy's boy’, and that he didn't like the hard stuff in terms of the discipline that was required to play.
“Can you imagine the criticism if they try and shield him from this?
“It would be, ‘Oh, he's weak, he can't handle it, look at him again’.
“So yeah, he had to play.
“I'm with you though. This game should have been in a in a marquee slot at Marvel in front of the North Melbourne fans.
“There's the by-play between (Cameron) Zurhaar and Horne-Francis in the off-season.
“You could have built this up into something significant.
“It hasn't really been discussed this week.”
Horne-Francis has been named for the clash which is set for 2.10pm (AEST) on Saturday at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena.