DUAL Hawthorn premiership player Taylor Duryea has laughed off his heated weekend exchange with teammate James Sicily as "nothing much".
Sicily's emotions spilled over late in the first half of Saturday night's 52-point win over Fremantle after Docker Hayden Ballantyne soccered the ball into the Hawk's face from close range.
Sicily vigorously appealed to the umpire for a kicking-in-danger free kick, leading to Kaiden Brand, then Duryea to interject to try to calm him down. Duryea's involvement only heightened Sicily's anger and the latter shoved him away and swore at him in extraordinary scenes.
Hawthorn captain Jarryd Roughead also spoke to a still-agitated Sicily as the team left the field at half-time, but Duryea said it was "just one of those things that happens out on the field".
"A minute later, it was forgotten about," Duryea told reporters on Monday.
"Those conversations, although probably not to that level, happen all the time out on the ground and you have to be able to move on, otherwise you get left in that moment in the game, so there was nothing much to it."
Duryea, 26, said he and Sicily had a "brief chat" about the incident, but had quickly moved on.
"He's an emotional player and, as you see, he plays on the edge and that's something we love about him," he said. "If you can harness that in the right way, it's only beneficial."
Duryea spent three consecutive weeks in the VFL after losing his senior place ahead of round two, but has reinvented himself as a forward in the past month. His two-year contract expires at season's end.
"I haven't really been thinking too much about (my contract situation)," he said.
"For me, with the new role and everything like that, it's just about trying to play good, consistent footy as a forward – something that's been a bit of a challenge for me.
"Obviously, my management and 'Wrighty' (Hawks list manager Graham Wright) have been in conversation, but that's something that will play out as the year goes on."
Hawthorn remains a slim finals chance thanks to three wins and a draw from its past five matches, and faces the league's in-form side, Sydney, at the MCG on Friday night.