Kanno having his 2 cents worth.
Kane Cornes is concerned for Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir after it was announced that his contract will be changed to an ‘ongoing employment agreement’ at the end of the season.
Given that Longmuir was already contracted until the end of the 2025 season, Fremantle announced the news as a signal of commitment in 2026 and beyond.
While the club put a positive spin on the announcement, Cornes doesn’t see it that way at all, describing the move as an inevitable ‘death sentence’ unless he achieves some immediate success.
“The biggest story of the day was out of Fremantle,” Cornes told SEN Sportsday.
“The Fremantle media and the Perth media intrigue me and they amuse me, because they're quite petrified of the clubs, particularly the Eagles.
“But this has been spun as a way to give Justin some security, but I don’t see it that way at all. I think this is almost a death sentence for him unless something extraordinary happens where he has success and, no worries, he'll feel a bit more secure.
“But if things get off to a poor start and if they underachieve with where their list is at, this is just an easy way for the club to move him on. It’s a much easier way than having to extend his contract now by at least two years beyond this one.
“If you aren’t confident come the end of this year where you’d have to pay him out for those full two years, if he has that in his contract … now it’s just, ‘We’ll give you a six-month payout and bang you’re gone’.
“So, I don't think this is a vote of confidence at all for the Fremantle coach as much as the club's spinning it that way.”
One reason why Cornes thinks that the move will inevitably make Longmuir’s time at the club shorter than it otherwise could be by looking at the two most recent coaches to be put on ongoing contract agreements – Brendon Bolton at Carlton and David Noble at North Melbourne.
“The last time it happened was Brendon Bolton and David Noble,” Cornes said.
“How did that work in terms of giving those two coaches security? Not well at all.
“It's bizarre, but in the end, it's almost a death sentence for him.”
Bolton’s deal was tweaked at Carlton in 2018 where he was sacked midway through the season. Noble signed on at North Melbourne in 2021 on an ongoing contract before parting ways with the Kangaroos after Round 17 in 2022.
