Former Port Adelaide star Kane Cornes has taken aim at North Melbourne for not being all in on star forward Ben Brown.
It's understood the key forward is looking for a four-year deal from the club but the Kangaroos have only tabled a three-year offer, despite the 27-year-old outscoring the rivals in the competition.
Even though Brown has scored more than 21 goals than any other player in the league since 2017, he's out of contract at the end of October and continues to be underrated, which has clearly frustrated Cornes.
"I'd be pretty offended if I was Ben Brown right now," Cornes wrote in a piece on the SEN website.
"This is the same North Melbourne that has offered nearly every big-name, out-of-contract player massive, multimillion-dollar, long-term contracts in recent years.
"They went fishing for a raft of players including Isaac Heeney, Dustin Martin, Josh Kelly, Andrew Gaff and threw a 'godfather' $5 million dollar deal at Jordan De Goey that he knocked back.
"Besides Martin, Brown is the equal or better than all of the targets North have tried desperately to attract. In an era where outstanding key forwards are rare, Brown has kicked more goals than any other player in the game in the last three seasons.
"188 goals in the last three years – yet North are only offering him three seasons. I'd be offended by that."
Cornes says the club is taking Brown for granted, especially since they've tried to snare top quality forwards in years gone. He said the Kangaroos should take care of one of their better players or else they could suffer the consequences.
"It seems to me that North are trying to exploit Brown because he's a good bloke, low maintenance, loyal and loves the club. That's just not right," he said.
"Ben Brown is far and away North's best player and a top 20 player in the AFL. He should be rewarded and treated as such.
"A three-year offer on the back of the ridiculous proposals North have shelved out to lesser players in recent years is nothing but insulting."
Brown is currently suffering a calf problem and is in some doubt for round one, after falling victim to the injury at training last month.
The 27-year-old told Nine news he pulled up sore during drills and had some scans but feels its not that serious.
"We went out to get an initial diagnosis which found out there was a little strain in the calf," he said.
"The secondary scan was just to clear things up and make sure we were 100 per cent sure what we were dealing with," he said.
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/kane-cornes-slams-north-melbourne-for-ben-brown-offer/ee9978ac-fcd1-4606-acfa-abb884974e65
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