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Sports

North Melbourne Kangaroos, Jason Horne-Francis, contract, future, South Australian, homecoming, axed, teams, Brent Harvey, selection, teams, dropped, pick one, draft

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.”

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Categories
Sports

Michael Masi death threats, abuse, interview, championship race, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen

Axed Formula One race director Michael Masi Sunday revealed he was bombarded with “vile” abuse and death threats after his stunning call that cost Lewis Hamilton an eighth world title.

The 44-year-old was removed from the high-profile job over his management of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year and quit the sport’s governing body FIA this month to return home to Australia.

I have told The Daily Telegraph he feared for his life after the sequence of events that led to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen passing Hamilton to deprive the Mercedes star of another crown.

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“There were some dark days,” Masi said in his first substantive interview since.

“And absolutely, I felt like I was the most hated man in the world. I got death threats. People saying, they were going to come after me and my family.

“I still remember walking down the street in London a day or two later. I thought I was OK until I started looking over my shoulder,” he added.

“I was looking at people wondering if they were going to get me.” Masi called in the safety car for the final lap in Abu Dhabi, then controversially allowed the backmarkers between race leader Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves.

That led to a one-lap shoot-out between the Briton and the Dutchman, who with fresh tires on his Red Bull car had a huge advantage which he exploited to pick off Hamilton and seal the title.

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Michael Masi, removed as Formula One race director over his management of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year, left The FIA, the sport's governing body.  (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
Michael Masi, removed as Formula One race director over his management of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year, left The FIA, the sport’s governing body. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)Source: AFP

Mercedes and Red Bull had both put pressure on Masi to make decisions which would have helped their driver, with the former left incensed as they believed he followed their rivals’ suggestions.

They threatened legal action with Hamilton so disillusioned there were fears he would walk away from the sport.

Masi can’t talk about the decision due to non-disclosure agreements with the FIA, the newspaper reported, but he said the following months were hellish.

“I was confronted with hundreds of messages,” he said.

“And they were shocking. Racist, abusive, vile, they called me every name under the sun. And there were death threats.

“And they kept on coming. Not just on my Facebook but also on my LinkedIn, which is supposed to be a professional platform for business. It was the same kind of abuse.”

Michael Masi opened up on the ordeal. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

The Australian said he tried to ignore them, but they impacted his mental health.

“I didn’t go and talk to a professional. With the benefit of hindsight, I probably should have,” he said, adding that the FIA ​​was aware of the abuse, “but I think I downplayed it all to everyone including them”.

Masi decided to leave the FIA ​​a fortnight ago after three years as Formula 1 race director and safety delegate following his appointment after the sudden passing of Charlie Whiting in 2019.

“It took me a while to process it all,” he said of the Abu Dhabi fallout. “But at the end of the day I thought it was best for me to come back home and be close to my support network.” Since the Abu Dhabi race, the FIA ​​announced measures to ease the pressure on the race director and also altered the mode of communicating with him.

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