KANE Cornes' sledge that accused Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield of exaggerating injuries is "attention-seeking behaviour", Cats coach Chris Scott says.
Dangerfield suffered bone bruising in his left foot during the first quarter against Hawthorn on Saturday when he attempted to kick the ball and his foot made contact with Hawthorn captain Jarryd Roughead.
Playing with a pronounced limp, the 27-year-old starred as a deep forward, finishing with a match-winning 5.6 from his 20 disposals and 12 marks in the Cats' three-point win.
However, Cornes claimed Dangerfield had a history of overstating his injuries.
Dangerfield made light of Cornes' sledge by arriving at his media conference on Monday on crutches, wearing a head bandage and an arm sling.
Scott hit back at the former Port Adelaide star on Monday night, but said he was prepared to give him "the benefit of the doubt".
"I think it's attention-seeking behaviour," Scott told Fox Footy.
"As a coach, you'd like to defend your players if you feel they need to be defended (but) Patrick Dangerfield doesn't need me stepping in for him.
"He probably took it with the spirit in which it was intended and I tend to think it was a comment that was the legacy of the old Port-Crows rivalry rather than anything that reflected Kane's true feelings.
"If there is a tinge of seriousness there, I'll counter with the fact that Patty played through broken ribs earlier in the year without a peep so my experience with him is that he deals with pain pretty well. Maybe we have different experiences and different perspectives."
Cornes has not been afraid to voice his views since hanging up the boots and pursuing a media career.
The Power premiership player told Channel Nine on Sunday that Dangerfield had a habit of talking up his ailments.
"He does exaggerate injuries," Cornes said.
"In his time at Adelaide, his teammates had to sit him down and say, 'Look, you do carry on a little bit with your injuries'.
"And he does (carry on), so I'd be surprised if he missed with that injury yesterday."
The latest spat comes a week after Cornes revealed he "had it out" with premiership teammate and Richmond coach Damien Hardwick in a "robust" phone conversation between the pair.
The war of words began during the round 16 St Kilda-Richmond clash when Cornes took to social media to question the Tigers' complacency, prompting Hardwick to return fire when alerted post-match.
Hardwick has since laughed off the exchange.
