Sledge that sparked Chris Scott's ugly moment with Brisbane players

The ugly war of words between Geelong and Brisbane were sparked by a grand final taunt from one of the Lions players, according to reports.

Friday night's match exploded after Gary Rohan's off-the-ball strike on Lachie Neale that left Brisbane's Brownlow Medallist fuming.

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Rohan faces a two-match suspension for the incident, that preceded a fiery exchange involving Geelong coach Chris Scott.

The Cats coach had to be dragged away by several of his players after becoming involved in a slanging match with several Lions players that centred around the toughness of both teams.

AFL Media’s Damian Barrett claims a sledge from one of the Brisbane players about Geelong's grand final defeat to Richmond sparked the chaos.

The Cats were steamrolled by the Tigers in a 31-point defeat in last season's AFL decider - a result that the Lions were apparently happy to remind Geelong about on Friday night.

According to Barrett, one of the Brisbane players said they were "not as soft as you pricks in the grand final," resulting in the ugly war of words involving Scott.

The Cats coach himself claimed Neale instigated the altercation, which ultimately led to the the exchange with Lions players, including Joe Daniher and Harris Andrews, at quarter-time.

Scott himself explained his actions in the post-game press conference, revealing that Neale had said something to him about Rohan that he could not make out at the time.

"I thought Neale struck Gary on the chest and then Gary struck him on the chest," Scott said.

"I'm certainly not saying he (Neale) did the wrong thing. I had a pretty good look at what Gary did and I'm comfortable with it."

Lions coach labels Scott's actions 'inappropriate'

Scott also claimed Neale was the one to speak first during the quarter-time break.

"I was walking onto the ground and Lachie said to me something I couldn't understand exactly, but something about Gary Rohan.

"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."

Neale experienced one of the quietest games of his illustrious career by being limited to 16 touches, but was influential in the Lions' last-quarter charge.

Regardless of what was said, Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said Scott's actions were unacceptable.

“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.”

with AAP

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