DURING the third quarter of Melbourne’s loss to Brisbane on Sunday, Demon teammates Steven May and Sam Frost were involved in a heated on-field debate.

But the discussion, which carried over into three quarter-time, was of no concern to coach Simon Goodwin.

“It’s fine – they were talking about a defensive behavior behind the ball that they were looking for,” Goodwin said post-game.

“They weren’t in agreeance with it, but I think it’s a healthy discussion to have, because the quality of how we defend is really important.”

May pulled on the red and blue for just the fourth time in Round 15, and as a former captain of Gold Coast, is already showing leadership at his new home.

Although the defensive duo clashed after a Lions second half goal, there has been no strain on their relationship.

“Those guys have spoken about it – they’re fine with each other,” Goodwin said.

“They haven’t played a lot of footy together and they’ll move on pretty quickly.”

External media have made reference to the incident, but in a highly competitive game of footy, showing some passion is a positive in the eyes of the Melbourne coach.

“I think it’s healthy that they care about how they’re playing, and they care about the actions defensively behind the ball and what they want to stand for,” Goodwin said.

“I’m all up for that and making sure there’s high accountability in the back-half of the ground.

“They’re good teammates, they get on well and they’re two very competitive, proud players.”