'Hasn't delivered': Cornes doubles down on De Goey

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes believes Jordan De Goey still needs to up his game both on and off the field.

Ahead of this season, Cornes called on the controversial Pie to step up after eight "inconsistent" years in the AFL system.

Citing his "underwhelming" best and fairest record and failure to earn an All-Australian call-up, Cornes believed the 27-year-old was capable of so much more in his career.

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De Goey was among Collingwood's best last Friday as the Magpies secured their place in this year's grand final with a thrilling one-point preliminary-final win over the Giants.

However, Cornes rejected the notion that De Goey has improved "fully" this season.

"He's shown a lot of maturity, but when I wrote that piece it was accurate and it still is accurate to this day," he told Nine' Footy Classified.

When challenged on his stance, Cornes pointed out that De Goey was handed a three-match suspension for "knocking out an 18-year-old" after catching the Eagles' Elijah Hewett high in round 12.

De Goey redefined some elements of his game in 2024 with above-average standards of 24.2 disposals and 5.8 clearances, however his performances were not enough to cement him as one of the league's premier midfielders.

"I think he's had a solid year for his talent," Cornes said.

"At the age of 28 by round one next year, on what he is capable of, he's underdelivered."

De Goey's totals of 34 disposals and 13 clearances against the Giants, ultimately lifted the Magpies into the grand final.

Cornes agreed De Goey had been pivotal to Collingwood's success this season and would be impactful in this Saturday's decider, but was still looking for more dependability from the former No.5 draft pick.

"It was as good a game that I've seen him play on Friday night but across the board, he hasn't consistently delivered that," he said

"But credit to the club for backing him in because I thought he had played his last game for Collingwood last year."