Former Brisbane Lions captain Dayne Zorko says an act by his teammate Noah Answerth was “not the way we want to win”.

Answerth mockingly wiped his eyes, gesturing that he was crying, towards Melbourne Demons player Harrison Petty during the final quarter of Brisbane’s 22-point win over Melbourne on Thursday night.

It was an apparent repeat of an ugly incident from 2022, when Petty was crying during a match following a sledge from Zorko.

The comment was reportedly about a family member of Petty, and it left the defender visibly upset at the time.

Zorko at the time said his conduct was inappropriate and told ABC Sport on Thursday that the crying gesture by Answerth was unnecessary.

“I’ll probably go have a word to him, that’s obviously not the way we want to win,” he said.

“Heat of the moment, stuff happens. I’m sure he’d have fixed it up after the game.”

Lions coach Chris Fagan and Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin both said they were unaware of the incident when asked during their post-match press conferences.

Former Hawthorn great turned broadcaster Jason Dunstall said during the Fox Footy broadcast he did not understand why Answerth would mock while his team was in command of the contest.

“I don’t get why you’d do it. A young player like Answerth, I have no idea why you’d go down that path,” he said.