GOLD Coast has moved on from Saturday's verbal exchange between Christian Petracca and Leo Lombard, with utility Joel Jeffrey saying the pair would both learn after immediately sorting out their differences.

Late in the 13-point loss to Carlton, Petracca was seen berating Lombard after he was caught holding-the-ball from a forward 50 stoppage, with the teenager returning serve in no uncertain terms.

The incident has been hotly debated in the media and by former players in the past three days, with views split on who was in the wrong.

"They followed up after the game and that's how it should be done," Jeffrey said on Tuesday afternoon.

"Players cop feedback all the time throughout a game.

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"For an older player to give Leo feedback, I'm sure he'll learn from it. They'll both learn from each other moving forward … if you get to each other after the game, it makes it a lot better and you're not dwelling on it too much.

"We're all men at the end of the day. They just got up to each other and sorted it out."

Jeffrey said although he didn't know the specifics of the exchange, the game was hard enough and players had to cop feedback on the chin and move on.

He said Petracca had brought a lot of energy with his leadership since arriving at Carrara in the off-season.

Christian Petracca with Leonardo Lombard during round 15 between Gold Coast and Hawthorn at People First Stadium, June 19, 2026. Picture: AFL Photos

"It opened my eyes how much he talks out on the field, and helping younger boys," Jeffrey said.

"He's a very energetic person, that's for sure. I knew that from the start.

"Having a bloke like him that's been there and done that, he's been a gun for a while now in the AFL and younger boys are going to learn from him."

Jeffrey was a bright spot in Gold Coast's ninth consecutive loss, kicking three goals after being swung forward following a season in the backline.

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He said despite the disastrous losing streak, the energy remained amongst the players to turn it around.

"We're riding the lows at the moment," he said.

"All we can do is keep helping each other. Obviously we want to be higher up the ladder than what we are and playing better footy.

"AFL is hard. 'Dimma' is big on connection … and what we can control. I'm sure we’re going to get a win very soon."