Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko insists there was no malice from his players during a heated verbal exchange that saw Geelong coach Chris Scott pulled away by his own players.
The Cats won a controversial one-point AFL thriller on Friday night, the fuse lit early when Gary Rohan was reported for striking Brisbane’s Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale in the first term.
Scott and several Lions players were engaged in a heated on-field discussion at the break, with reports on Monday suggesting star Brisbane fullback Harris Andrews had sledged Scott for his side’s effort in last year’s grand final.
“Not as soft as you pricks in the grand final,” the Lions player reportedly said.
Geelong were dominated in last year’s decider at the Gabba by Richmond, a week after thumping Brisbane in the preliminary final.
Zorko played down the drama on Monday.
“I was pretty close to it all, didn’t hear too much so it might have been blown out of proportion a bit,” he said.
“And what came out today in regards to Harris is news to Harris and us as well.
“You could see the passion in both teams, how badly they wanted to win.
“It might have boiled over a little at quarter-time but there was no malice there that’s for sure.”
The AFL has yet to announce if Scott had received a ‘please explain’ but his actions were condemned by Lions coach Chris Fagan.
“Personally I would not choose to speak to opposition players, I don’t think it is appropriate,” Fagan told 3AW.
“I don’t know how often it happens, pretty rarely I guess.
“I wasn’t there to see how it all started, but I think from a coaching perspective you just need to restrain yourself no matter how you feel at that moment.”
Scott had claimed Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale was the person who originally sparked the quarter-time altercation.
“I was walking onto the ground and Lachie said to me something I couldn’t understand exactly, but something about Gary Rohan,” he said.
“And I said I’m happy to have that conversation if you like, I’ve seen the vision and I’m comfortable with it. That’s all that was said.
“They (Lions players) weren’t paying me compliments.”
Geelong’s win over Brisbane, which featured some costly missed shots at goal from the Lions and a last-minute umpiring howler that would have given the travelling side a shot to win the game, left them 0-2 ahead of Thursday’s relocated clash with Collingwood at Marvel Stadium.
Due to Queensland’s three-day COVID-19 lockdown, the Lions could be based in Melbourne until April 10 when they are due to play the Western Bulldogs in Bendigo.
Zorko said Jarrod Berry, a late scratching for the Cats game, was a likely starter although ruckman Oscar McInerney (ankle) had scans on Monday and appeared a long shot to back up.
Darcy Gardiner, Rhys Mathieson, Marcus Adams and Connor Ballenden, who could replace McInerney (ankle) have flown to Victoria to bolster the squad.
Zorko said whoever took the ruck duties would have their hands full against the in-form Brodie Grundy but that their performance against Geelong gave them confidence.
“It was one of the more physical games I’ve played in my career,” he said.
“But we got back to what we were able to do last year.”
– with 7NEWS