Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson has shrugged off reports of ‘ferocious clashes’ at training on Thursday, saying he expects competitive sessions to be on the edge.

Best friends away from the field, Taylor Walker and Matt Jaensch sparked a media frenzy after television cameras captured them clashing twice during Thursday’s main session.

Sanderson has demanded a more physical and aggressive approach from his players since being appointed coach of the Crows last September, placing a big emphasis on strength training and competitive drills.

The former Geelong player and assistant coach said the clash between Walker and Jaensch was simply an example of the internal rivalry at the Club.

“We were doing some match simulation. All the cameras were out and they saw some stuff, which they probably haven’t seen before at our training, but to be honest it was nothing new to us,” Sanderson told afc.com.au.

“If people had been out watching throughout the summer, they would see that type of aggression quite regularly.

“It’s not guys being reckless at all.

“It’s a bit of internal rivalry between guys, who are competitive and desperate to win.

“The guys who were involved in a bit of argy bargy yesterday (Walker and Jaensch) are actually really good mates.

“It’s just a bit of that white-line fever and as a coach, I admit, I love it.

“That’s the way we train now.

“We’ve just got to make sure that transfers to match day, so we can take it out on an opposition club.”

Bemused by the coverage, Walker and Jaensch took to Twitter, writing tongue-in-cheek tweets to each other, which were incorrectly construed by some as being serious in nature.

Later Walker tweeted, ‘Me and @Matt_Jaensch are best mates and it was a bit of fun.’

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