GWS coach Adam Kingsley has rubbished claims Stephen Coniglio was consistently arguing with umpires before a controversial dissent free kick was paid against him late in the Giants' narrow defeat to Carlton.
Kingsley said GWS had attempted to move on from the contentious call but took aim at reports Coniglio had been regularly complaining to umpires during Saturday's 10-point loss.
News Corp reported on Monday the AFL believed Coniglio was "badgering" umpires and the dissent decision was the "last straw".
"The (dissent) rule itself is not an issue. That decision ... oh well, we move on," Kingsley said on Wednesday.
"We certainly know that the rhetoric has been around that it was a reaction to numerous events - well, I can tell you that is just completely rubbish.
"That's not the case at all, so anyone who wants to attack the decision from that angle is completely wrong."
"That's complete rubbish ... when you look at Cogs, you're dealing with one of the most respectful people in the AFL," he said.
The AFL publicly addressed the controversy on Monday, with umpire's boss Dan Richardson ticking off the decision while encouraging players to respect umpires and their "human response" to being questioned.
"If there was no challenge to the decision, regardless of personal opinion on the threshold, then no free kick could or would have been paid," Richardson said.
"Just like we have some players or coaches who occasionally get emotional, or become overly expressive when under pressure, we also have umpires with differing levels of temperament.
"We have a set of guidelines for the umpires to work between, and we coach them, but we also can't coach human response."
Kingsley said GWS had great respect for umpires but wondered why the dissent rule was suddenly being applied differently now to most of last season.
"We know it's a hard game to umpire already, so why are we making it even more difficult," he said.
"The rule where it was midway through last season to the finish of last season is where it needs to be.
"I felt like it was really well umpired in that time frame."
