Essendon coach John Worsfold had felt like he had a pretty good handle on the deliberate rushed-behind rule but now he's not so sure.
The contentious rule was hotly debated after Bombers forward Josh Green was awarded a free kick when Richmond's Jayden Short was penalised during the Dreamtime at the 'G clash.
The confusion around the rule is mostly centred on the type and amount of pressure a player is under when he rushes a behind.
Worsfold thought he knew what constituted appropriate pressure, but an umpire's clarification this week muddied the waters for him.
"It was a free kick to Josh Green but then I read the latest release by the umpires which now says it's not physical pressure," Worsfold told reporters on Friday.
"Before, they were saying it was physical pressure - not perceived pressure - and now they're saying there's a gap of physical pressure, which sounds like perceived pressure to me.
"So from last week to now, I'm a little bit grey."
Green gave up the chase and began appealing for a free kick immediately as Short rushed the point, drawing criticism from some for not playing the ball.
Worsfold appreciates the difficulty of enforcing the rule, saying unforeseen scenarios are always bound to arise.
"When they make a rule, they can't make it for every situation," he said.
"But a player maybe running at top speed toward a footy that's one or two metres in from the line, have they got the ability to pull up, pick the footy up and not get tackled and caught holding the ball?
"What's their option?
"I think that's what they're looking at -- if they're under that much heat and running at that speed, and they're assuming that 'Even if I slow up even a bit, I'll get caught' - that's pressure."
The coach said he would prefer the penalty for breaking the rule to be a ball up instead of a free kick.
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