Umpires incorrectly paid three free kicks for deliberate out of bounds in Round 3, AFL football operations manager Steve Hocking has acknowledged.
Hocking told reporters on Monday Port Adelaide's Sam Powell-Pepper, Brisbane's Mitch Robinson and Geelong's Jack Henry had all been incorrectly penalised under the 'insufficient intent' rule on the weekend.
Powell-Pepper and Robinson were both penalised during Port's five-point win over the Lions at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, with Powell-Pepper kicking the ball over the boundary line from inside the centre square and Robinson doing the same after soccering the ball from the edge of the centre square just as two Port players arrived.
Henry gave away a free kick in the final quarter of the Cats' loss to West Coast after falling over the boundary line with the ball as he tried to evade Jake Waterman.
Hocking agreed umpires had been "pretty hot" with the deliberate out of bounds rule, saying clubs would be informed this week that it had been applied incorrectly in three instances.
"The rule is there to keep the ball in play, that's something that we're seeing in the game. I think the rushed behind has done that as
"There's a reason why it's been introduced. What we've got to do is adjudicate that and officiate that better than what we did over the weekend.
"There were three decisions that were incorrect. The coaches and the players will get that information during the week and be notified of that.
"(Our) umpiring team that's led by Grant Williams and James Podsiadly, our engagement and stakeholder manager, they'll communicate with the clubs."
