GEELONG captain Joel Selwood says his frustration with the team’s performance bubbled to the fore in an “awkward” on-field run-in with Collingwood counterpart Scott Pendlebury on Sunday.

Speaking about the exchange for the first time on the Jock and Journo Podcast, Selwood and Pendlebury downplayed the incident as “standard banter”, which was interrupted by the final siren.

Selwood is believed to have made a negative comment about the Pies’ early-season form but said there was zero personal malice in his exchange with Pendlebury.

Pendlebury brushed aside the on-field sledge and initiated a handshake between the former Victorian teammates and superstar premiership midfielders.

Round 18

Selwood said he was frustrated that he had been well-beaten by tagger Levi Greenwood in a third-consecutive loss to Collingwood.

Joel Selwood and Scott Pendlebury had words with each other before and after the final siren. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

“It (the exchange) was more just disappointment that we (Cats) came to play the way we did and he (Pendlebury) was the one closest to me (on the siren), so I was taking a little bit of that frustration out on him,” Selwood said.

“Levi had got me again and did a really good number on me and I had just got my licence back (after a speeding offence) so I thought Scott was going to ask me to take me back to the Holden Centre and do some recovery.”

A triple premiership player, Selwood rejected the suggestion he was a “sore loser”, saying the accusations were off the mark.

MARK ROBINSON: WHAT DID SELWOOD SAY TO PENDLES?

TAGGED: GREENWOOD DOES THE JOB ON SELWOOD

NATHAN BUCKLEY: WIN OVER CATS ‘ONE TO ENJOY’

OOPS: MASON COX’S HILARIOUS BRAINFADE

“It’s an opinion someone will take. I’ve been fortunate to be in a position where I’ve won a lot of games,” he said.

“To be called that — a sore loser — it doesn’t sit well with me.

“I’m not going to get upset with it. I don’t think it’s me as a person, and it doesn’t say who I am.

“Even in the rooms after the game, I was sitting down next to Paddy (Dangerfield) and Andrew Mackie and we were just talking about next time what we’ve got to do when we come up against the Pies next.

First ever guest on the podcast @joelselwood14 thanks for coming on 👏🏻 #jockandjourno A post shared by Scott Pendlebury (@sp_10) on May 1, 2017 at 8:43pm PDT

“And it was just about getting better straight away rather than even worrying about the loss too much.”

Selwood, a three-time All-Australian captain, said the verbal barbs aimed at Pendlebury were meaningless and a common occurrence in the AFL.

“You find it funny, you go through the whole game and you say a lot of things to a lot of different people, and half of it doesn’t make sense,” he said.

“That was just another time that it happened and it happened right on the siren.

“There is a situation which makes you look awkward because I’m standing next to the best player on the ground for the day and the difference (between the two teams) really, and (the person) that helped them perform the way they did.”

Joel Selwood complains to the umpire. Picture: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia

Pendlebury said the two players’ competitive juices were flowing but quickly halted after the siren blew.

The brilliant ballwinner said there was no ill-feeling between the players, who are widely considered two of the premier onballers of the past decade.

“It was quite awkward because you are in the heat of the moment and you are supposed to switch straight off and shake hands and have a laugh about it,” Pendlebury said.

“But if you do have a laugh you probably get crushed (by the media) as well. It was just a bit of banter and we left it right where it was — between the lines.”

Selwood suggested the Cats may have been complacent in the 29-point loss to the Magpies and would have to sharpen up against the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday night.

“(There’s) definitely disappointment because it’s about the third or fourth time we’ve been pulled apart by the Pies in similar fashion,” Selwood said.

“They definitely come to play against us, and we probably looked at the game thinking a little bit coming off a-five day break that this will be pretty tough for them, and with a little mindset (weakness).

“It’s one hare we need to improve on and try and get better.”

Selwood said there was nothing untoward in Greenwood’s tagging tactics.

The gun Cat said his Geelong teammates had to step up around the contest when he was being taken out of the game.

Levi Greenwood successfully tagged Joel Selwood out of the game on Sunday. Picture: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia

“He (Greenwood) played the game quite well and he has played on me a few times before, so it’s just about preparing for those match-ups and working out where you want to take Levi on the day and how you want to play him,” he said.

“You do need some help, because when you do come up against a good opponent like that, it is hard to get off the lead sometimes.

“The best help that can happen is the guys around you wining the ball and on the day we just didn’t have enough guys that won contests.

“Scott and I have both been tagged and it’s definitely easier when you have got runs on the board against someone like Levi.

“I do need to have a good win against him because it has been a while since I have got him, and even when he was at the Kangaroos … he is quick and he is strong and he is really disciplined the way he goes about things.”