Never a hugger himself, Essendon coach John Worsfold has no problem with Joe Daniher sharing the love – as long as he's playing good footy.
A week after being best-afield on Anzac Day, the mercurial Bombers spearhead struggled in front of goal during Sunday's loss to Melbourne at Etihad Stadium, finishing with 1.6 and twice kicking out on the full.
It was a rough day for Daniher but some questioned how switched on he was after he was seen jovially putting his arms around former teammate Michael Hibberd as they faced off to start the second half.
The game has changed plenty since Worsfold's heyday in the 1990s, but Daniher's behaviour was far removed from the way the former West Coast hard man went about his football.
The dual premiership captain was renowned for his ferocious attack on the ball and his willingness to dish out brutal hip-and-shoulders to the likes of Tony Modra and Gary Ablett.
But Worsfold isn't buying into suggestions Daniher's less combative approach might be affecting his play.
"He can hug as many people as he wants if he's playing good footy," Worsfold said on Tuesday.
"If that was influencing his ability to perform, then I would expect that he wouldn't be doing it. I think we've got to give these young men some credit for their maturity and understanding.
"I wasn't a hugger myself but we're all different."
At 23, Daniher's best years are still ahead of him but his figures from the first six games of the season - 13.16 – suggest his radar still needs a fair bit of fine tuning.
Worsfold is nonetheless confident Daniher will get past the issue, even if it takes longer than hoped.
"It's about the consistency of practice and focuses on what he's working on," Worsfold said.
"It was a one-off event in terms of a really inaccurate display but part of what Joe's doing is putting a program together to improve his kicking and that's over the course of the next eight years.
"He'll continue to do that. He won't stop working on getting better as a player - that's what we expect from him."
