A seemingly innocent greeting from Kane Cornes to Luke Beveridge set off the Bulldogs coach, as he blasted the Channel Seven AFL commentator before the blockbuster game against Geelong tonight.

Cornes is not well liked at Whitten Oval and is banned from their rooms on game day due to his commentary around Beveridge’s tenure.

As Beveridge passed behind the Channel Seven panel to conduct an interview with rival broadcaster Fox Footy, Cornes said Beveridge was staring at him, so he simply said, “G’day Bevo.”

The Bulldogs coach did not return the greeting, and the pair exchanged words briefly before Beveridge and his staff walked off and Cornes returned to the on-field panel with his colleagues.

“There was a confrontation, there were some words spoken,” Cornes said on Channel Seven.

“But look, he’s combative, they do like to protect their players. I don’t have an issue with it — it’s a big game of footy.

“Clearly, the relationship between myself and the Western Bulldogs isn’t a strong one.”

Cornes said he did not feel Beveridge went out of his way to have words.

“It was an awkward situation because he was staring at me quite strongly, and I didn’t really know what to say,” he said.

“So I just said ‘G’day Bevo,’ and it wasn’t received that well, as you can see there in the vision.

“I would’ve liked to have gone on with the conversation and had it respectfully, but it wasn’t the time or the place.”

Post-match Beveridge denied there had been an incident and refused to talk about what was said.

“What incident?” he said.

“If you’re trying to drum up some controversy I don’t think there was any.”

Thursday night’s clash was headlined by star Geelong recruit Bailey Smith making his first appearance against the Bulldogs since his move to the club.

A gesture by Cornes before his run-in with Beveridge would have also riled the Bulldogs team.

Cornes spoke briefly with Smith before the game, borrowing a headband and briefly wearing it live on air.

“I am all in,” Cornes said on air as he wrapped the white headband synonymous with Smith around his head.

Cornes’ SEN radio show co-host David King said neither Beveridge nor Cornes covered themselves with glory during the incident.

“This is what Kane does. This is his shtick. I think there are no winners — it makes two intelligent people look really foolish,” King told Fox Footy during the half-time break.

The fiery confrontation came before the Cats ran out to a 70–45 half-time lead, before the Dogs rallied in the third quarter to reduce the deficit to 10 points at the last break to trail 101-91. The Dogs drew level in the final term but Geelong went on to win 127-113.

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