Cats coach Chris Scott said on Wednesday that Clark had moved quickly to make amends with Duncan after the incident more than a month ago.

He described the issue as a small one that not even he had been aware of before it was reported by Fairfax Media on Monday.

"Let's be clear. In this situation here Mitch thinks he over stepped the mark," said Scott.

"It wasn't a huge step over. It's certainly not something that the AFL or the footy club would think serious enough to impose punitive action.

"So it's at the minor end of the scale, but it did overstep the mark and he's clear on that.

"He was clear on that an hour after the game and he took steps to rectify it."

Scott acknowledged that Clark had made a derogatory comment about opponent Teia Miles' sister - and Duncan's long-term partner - in a VFL game between Box Hill and Geelong.

But he said the incident was now "very much old news" and had not caused a broader rift in the Geelong playing group.

"It was a small issue that was dealt with in the appropriate way but unfortunately it has come to light a month after the fact. It's a non-issue," he said.

"I understand that part of the story is that there's a division among the players at Geelong.

"I can categorically say that is not true, and that's coming from the horse's mouth."

Clark was recalled to play his ninth game for the Cats last Friday, playing for the first time in a year having overcome a calf injury.

He played in the forward line alongside Tom Hawkins, a player Scott was confident would soon regain strong form with the help of his teammates.

"A big part of it is the way we're playing collectively. That needs to be better and our delivery needs to be better," Scott said.

"I think we can kick the ball to him a little bit more. He's still a dominant player one-on-one, even when he's not quite at his best.

"Then there's the part that he needs to play as well. We'd like him to be a little more involved in the game.

"I'm unbelievably confident (that he can turn things around), and I've got great faith in Tom."

Scott was also sure that the hard work being done by Steven Motlop through each week would also soon result in better on-field form.

"There's always room for improvement and you always think you could have tried harder, and I'm sure Steve's questioning those things at the moment," he said.

"But the work he's doing with us strongly suggests that he's really motivated to improve his game. He wants to be an elite player in the competition, and we're going to do everything we can to support him to get there.

"That support doesn't involve blind faith - there will come a point in time where we say, 'Steve, the best thing for the team is for you not to be in it'. We're not at the point right at the moment.

"If you're looking for big names to go out of our team this week, then I think you'll be disappointed."