Lighten up, it's only banter between mates.
That's the message from the Adelaide Crows about forward Josh Jenkins' sledge to Geelong megastar and ex-Crow Patrick Dangerfield.
"There would be nothing better than beating him and reminding him that perhaps he should have stuck around with us and he could be a Brownlow medallist and a premiership player," Jenkins said in a television interview last week.
The tall forward's comments came before Geelong booked a trip to Adelaide to face the Crows in a preliminary final this Friday night.
But rather than light a fuse for the knockout final, Crows assistant coach David Teague said the comments should be taken in jest.
"They're very good friends, you have got to remember that they're quite close," Teague told reporters on Monday.
"I think they're having a bit of fun ... words are words, at the end of the day it will come down to actions."
Dangerfield, who left the Crows at the end of the 2015 season, is a central figure in Friday night's Adelaide Oval fixture.
The champion midfielder started in attack in Geelong's semi-final win against Sydney and kicked four goals in the opening half.
The Crows weren't surprised by his feats and while they'll plan for both possibilities - Dangerfield in attack or the midfield - they won't overly focus on the Geelong linchpin.
"To be honest, they're a really good side and you don't want to spend too much time focusing on one player," Teague said.
"The other night they had a lot of players that contributed well ... it's the whole team we will be preparing for."
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