The reason behind Jason Horne-Francis’ shock axing has been revealed with the young star failing to meet standards at the club.
North Melbourne’s decision to drop the number one draft pick ahead of his first AFL game back in South Australia, his home state, left fans around the league scratching their heads.
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On Friday night however the reasons behind the decision to ax him where detailed by Channel 7 journalist Mitch Cleary.
Cleary said the 18-year-old was left out of North Melbourne’s squad for “disobeying his coach” last weekend.
“The star teenager was called out by interim coach Leigh Adams and senior players on Sunday for failing to complete his proper ice baths and recovery in front of their very eyes,” Cleary reported.
“I have spent this morning with a dozen teammates training in Melbourne (instead of traveling with the squad).”
Horne-Francis will now run out in the VFL after failing to live up to the club’s “Monday to Friday” expectations.
Former North Melbourne great Brent Harvey opened up on the Horne-Francis axing.
“There’s some stuff that we call Monday to Friday, it’s preparation stuff – you need to tick the boxes,” Harvey said on RSN Radio.
“This is not just about Jason … (Caretaker coach) Leigh Adams has got very good standards, I’ve got to be a little bit careful … but we’ve got players not playing in our team and I’ll name one right now : Kayne Turner.
“He would run through brick walls for every single one of his teammates and every single one of his supporters – he does everything right.
“If he’s not playing, he’s playing in the reserves at the minute, you’d want to be doing everything right to make sure you’re holding up your end of the bargain. We call that Monday to Friday and if you haven’t got your Monday to Friday in order, that’s just not good enough right now.
“Was it good enough in Round 3, Round 4, Round 5? Maybe.
“But with Leigh Adams in charge, the standards have gone to another level and players have to play their part. Monday to Friday is just as important as performing on game day for us.
“There’s not just one incident where we’ve just said (to Horne-Francis): ‘Nah, you’re not playing because of this’. It’s not that at all, everything comes into calculations, the form side of it, what he’s doing after stoppage. There’s so much that comes into it.”
Horne-Francis immediately postponed contract extension negotiations after he was drafted by the club last year.
His two-year draft deal expires at the end of the 2023 season and both Adelaide and Port Adelaide are said to be heavily circling the teenage star.
Jason Horne-Francis’ failure to complete his “proper ice bath and recovery” is what led to his shock axing from the side to face Adelaide, 7NEWS has revealed.
Horne-Francis was left out of the Kangaroos’ line up for what would have been his first homecoming to play in front of family and friends since being snapped up with North’s first number one draft pick.
7NEWS journalist Mitch Cleary said the prized draft pick was omitted for “disobeying his coach” last weekend.
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“The star teenager was called out by interim coach Leigh Adams and senior players on Sunday for failing to complete his proper ice baths and recovery in front of their very eyes,” Cleary reported.
“I have spent this morning with a dozen teammates training in Melbourne (instead of traveling with the squad).”
He’ll now play in the VFL after failing to live up to the club’s “Monday to Friday” expectations.
With Horne-Francis putting off contract extension talks earlier this year, there’s fears the 18-year-old could be preparing to depart the ‘Roos at the end of 2023 – when his initial two-year draft deal expires.
But North Melbourne great Brent Harvey says the club will not be “held to ransom” by Horne-Francis’ uncertain future.
“I think there’s always a risk (when dropping him),” Harvey said on RSN on Friday.
“He’s going to have the spotlight on him because he’s the number one draft pick… (but) he hasn’t gone out and robbed a bank, he hasn’t done anything bad; teammates love him, staff love him, the coaches love him – he hasn’t done anything bad. This is just part of the development of a young boy to get his preparation right and everybody else. Not just Jason.
“The risk is there (that he departs)… we know the risk, everybody knows the right. Not just Jason. It could be draft pick number five, not number one and they’re from Adelaide or Perth – the going home factor is always going to be there. Same as a Perth club that drafts a Melbourne boy – it’s always going to be there.
“But you can’t get held to ransom for these little things. You’ve got to make sure your culture is number one and that’s what our coach is doing right now and I absolutely love it.”
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The decision to ax Horne-Francis shocked the AFL community, with Fox Footy’s Nick Riewoldt labeling the move “strange”, while David King questioned the call given the teen would have motivation to perform in front of his support network.
Brownlow Medalist Gerard Healy even told 3AW’s sports day that Horne-Francis’ non-selection for the Crows game was “a bookend to a pretty disappointing season”.
But Harvey opened up on the decision to ax Horne-Francis, who was also left in the VFL for a week after returning from suspension earlier this season.
“There’s some stuff that we call Monday to Friday, it’s preparation stuff – you need to tick the boxes,” he said.
“This is not just about Jason … (Caretaker coach) Leigh Adams has got very good standards, I’ve got to be a little bit careful … but we’ve got players not playing in our team and I’ll name one right now : Kayne Turner.
“He would run through brick walls for every single one of his teammates and every single one of his supporters – he does everything right.
“If he’s not playing, he’s playing in the reserves at the minute, you’d want to be doing everything right to make sure you’re holding up your end of the bargain. We call that Monday to Friday and if you haven’t got your Monday to Friday in order, that’s just not good enough right now.
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“Was it good enough in Round 3, Round 4, Round 5? Maybe.
“But with Leigh Adams in charge, the standards have gone to another level and players have to play their part. Monday to Friday is just as important as performing on game day for us.
“There’s not just one incident where we’ve just said (to Horne-Francis): ‘Nah, you’re not playing because of this’. It’s not that at all, everything comes into calculations, the form side of it, what he’s doing after stoppage. There’s so much that comes into it.”
Harvey, who played 432 games for the Roos and was a premiership winner in 1999, said the club needed to instill the best culture possible in Horne-Francis and the Kangaroos squad moving forward.
“The end of the day, we’ll always come back to what’s best for the football club and what’s best for the culture,” Harvey said.
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“He’s 18 years old, there are going to be little mistakes along the way.
“Any draftee that comes is not perfect, they are never perfect… he’s come over from interstate, straight into an elite environment.
“Our job is to teach them. Then they’ve got to learn themselves.
“I think he’s done fantastic in his first year away from mum and dad.
“(But) if you compromise on your culture, things go pear shaped real quickly.”
AFL pundits have been left surprised by North Melbourne’s decision to drop No. 1 pick Jason Horne Francis for Saturday’s clash against the Crows in Adelaide.
The Kangaroos have named three inclusions for the match against Adelaide, with star veteran Ben Cunnington to make his highly-anticipated AFL return after beating cancer. Cunnington is joined on the side by key defender Ben McKay and father-son draftee Jackson Archer.
But the Roos also made a statement with their exclusions, dropping Horne-Francis, recruit Hugh Greenwood and key defender Josh Walker, while Flynn Perez was the club’s unused medical sub against Sydney last Sunday.
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Horne-Francis also wasn’t named in the emergencies, which is made up of Walker, Greenwood Atu Bosenavulagi and Josh Goater.
The 2021 No. 1 draft pick played in 12 of North’s first 13 games this season before copping a two-match suspension and returning via the VFL. But in his past four AFL games, Horne-Francis has kicked one goal and averaged 14.3 disposals.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 Plus on Thursday night, St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt thought the call to drop Horne-Francis was “strange”.
“There’s two games to go in the year, I would think you’re trying to get games into these guys to expose them as much as you possibly can, give a potential coach like Alastair Clarkson a look at the young players and the game’s in Adelaide – that’s where all his family and friends (are). He was desperate to get back there earlier in the year, which created some issue,” Riewoldt told Fox Footy.
Dual premiership Kangaroo David King was also surprised by the decision.
“Why would you drop Horne-Francis? He’s going back to Adelaide to play in front of family and friends, why wouldn’t you give him that opportunity? I don’t understand that,” King told SEN.
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“Just put him there in front of his friends and family because he’ll want to perform.”
Brownlow Medalist Gerard Healy told 3AW’s sports day that Horne-Francis’ non-selection for the Crows game was “a bookend to a pretty disappointing season”.
As well as reports Horne-Francis flew home to South Australia without the club’s awareness earlier this season, he also copped criticism for liking a ‘fake trade’ post on social media that involved him heading to Port Adelaide, while an on-field interaction with club great Todd Goldstein was also picked apart by footy commentators.
Jason Horne-Francis of the Kangaroos. Picture: Michael WillsonSource: Getty Images
There’s also been speculation around Horne-Francis’ future and talk he could return to South Australia after putting off contract talks with the Kangaroos on a new deal beyond 2023.
While dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna thought it was an “unusual” selection move, he told AFL 360 Plus “tough love can hold you in better stead in the long term”.
“I think that’s the general consensus, ‘why not just play them’, but we’ve seen with Jamarra Ugle-Hagan sometimes some tough love in the short-term can actually hold players in better stead in the long-term,” Montagna told Fox Footy.
“Maybe there are still elements in his game that we don’t know about that he’s working on or he’s not buying into some goals that they want.”
Carlton has omitted Tom De Koning, Will Setterfield and Paddy Dow for Saturday’s must-win game against Melbourne.
The Blues bring Marc Pittonet back into the side along with Liam Stocker, while they’ve named Patrick Cripps in the center as he awaits his fate at the AFL Appeals Board.
The Western Bulldogs have omitted Alex Keath for a second time this season, with Ryan Gardner coming into the side in his stead, while Lachie Hunter and Stefan Martin return.
Key forward Josh Bruce has been managed.
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Meanwhile, North Melbourne has made a couple of selection statements, with Hugh Greenwood, Jason Horne-Francis and Josh Walker omitted from the side that will take on Adelaide on Saturday.
As confirmed on Wednesday, veteran midfielder Ben Cunnington will play his first AFL game in 13 months, with Ben McKay and Jackson Archer also returning.
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Geelong has been boosted by the return of quartet Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood, Mark Blicavs and Gary Rohan to face the Suns. But they’ve managed Mitch Duncan, Isaac Smith and Mark O’Connor, while Luke Dahlhaus (omitted) and Jon Ceglar (medi-sub) also haven’t been named.
Brisbane has turned to a pair of Jack’s — Jaxon Prior and Jackson Payne — to replace injured duo Marcus Adams and Callum Ah Chee for their primetime match-up against the Saints.
St Kilda veteran Dan Hannebery has been ‘managed’ for Friday night’s clash against the Lions after suffering an ankle injury last round.
Fremantle has opted to bring Sam Switkowski straight into its senior team, with the small pressure forward to play his first AFL match since Round 13.
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Bomber Dylan Shiel, as well as Power forward duo Todd Marshall and Mitch Georgiades have been named for Sunday’s Essendon-Port Adelaide clash, but star veteran Robbie Gray has been managed.
Shane Edwards (Richmond), Liam Shiels (Hawthorn), Peter Ladhams (Sydney) and Ollie Henry (Collingwood) have all been named on the extended benches for their respective Sunday matches.
Carlton has omitted Tom De Koning, Will Setterfield and Paddy Dow for Saturday’s must-win game against Melbourne.
The Blues bring Marc Pittonet back into the side along with Liam Stocker, while they’ve named Patrick Cripps in the center as he awaits his fate at the AFL Appeals Board.
The Western Bulldogs have omitted Alex Keath for a second time this season, with Ryan Gardner coming into the side in his stead, while Lachie Hunter and Stefan Martin return.
Key forward Josh Bruce has been managed.
Meanwhile, North Melbourne has made a couple of selection statements, with Hugh Greenwood and Jason Horne-Francis omitted from the side that they will take on Adelaide on Saturday.
