“He has to look at himself”: Cornes questions Lobb in wake of latest trade bombshell

Kane Cornes wants Rory Lobb to look at his own form and the reasons behind his AFL omission this year, in the wake of the latest trade reports surrounding the Bulldogs forward.

Channel 9’s Tom Morris detailed on Sunday night that the 31-year-old will seek a trade away from Whitten Oval at the end of this season after managing just three AFL games so far in 2024.

Should the Bulldogs grant Lobb’s trade request, he will join his fourth AFL club and break his contract in the process.

After previous stints at GWS, Fremantle and now the Dogs, Cornes called for Lobb to look internally as to why he keeps shifting clubs.

“At some point for Rory, I think he has to look at himself and ask himself whether he has done everything to be the player he was capable of being,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.

“This will be his fourth club and to me, it feels like (he thinks) it’s always the club’s fault.

“I think it’s good as a player to reflect in your role in that and he’s got a couple of years left in his contract at the Western Bulldogs, but he wants out again.

“So pull up your socks and have a look internally, perhaps at the things you haven’t done to be the player that you could have been and stop blaming the club and looking for an easy out.”

Lobb has played 163 games since debuting for the Giants back in 2014 and managed 20 appearances for the Bulldogs last year, his first season at the club.

But the rise of talented Dogs utility Sam Darcy has seen Lobb largely contrained to the VFL in 2024, where he has kicked seven goals across his last three games.

In 12 seasons at AFL level, he’s never kicked more than 36 goals in a year.

Lobb is poised for an AFL recall after Aaron Naughton went down with a knee injury in his side’s Round 10 loss to the Sydney Swans.

Naughton is set to miss 4-6 weeks as a result.

But even if Lobb regains his senior spot, Morris reports that a trade request is a near certainty.

“Rory Lobb will request a trade at the end of the season to another Victorian team, regardless of whether he plays seniors again or not in 2024,” Morris said on Sunday.

“Lobb has already made up his mind. He wants to play for a fourth AFL club next season.”

SEN SA’s Michelangelo Rucci has previously reported that Collingwood are interested in recruiting Lobb to the AIA Centre.