The Western Bulldogs' Luke Beveridge has teed off at the AFL, saying coaches have never felt more "helpless" about guiding their players how to tackle.
The longest-serving coach in Bulldogs history believes there is "total confusion", even within the umpiring ranks, about how to correctly penalise tackles.
When asked for his thoughts on Richmond forward Rhyan Mansell receiving a three-game suspension for dangerously pushing St Kilda defender Liam O'Connell into a contest, Beveridge directed his frustrations elsewhere.
"I don't want to be too controversial today," the 2016 premiership coach said on Thursday.
"The main one that we're all focusing on, moving away from that (Mansell incident), is there's just too much uncertainty across the league in regards to source pressure situations with tackling and being tackled.
"No one understands the rule anymore, and it's very difficult to coach it.
"How long can you hang on to the ball? Can you attempt to dispose of it? Throw it out, miss it completely, is it play on?
"No one understands it.
"So the suggestion for me was to make sure we bring back prior opportunity and validate incorrect disposal."
The AFL adjusted their interpretations last year after coaches, led by Gold Coast's Damien Hardwick and Carlton's Michael Voss, called on umpires to start making faster calls on holding-the-ball decisions.
Beveridge has raised it personally with the AFL.
"We've gone from that to now this total confusion, so unfortunately we need a correction and it needs to come from City Hall (the AFL) and through the umpires.
"Because the umpires are just finding it too hard.
"They don't know how to adjudicate it and our players don't know what the decision is going to be.
"I don't think we as coaches have ever felt as helpless around that and coaching it as we do now.
"I think the whole competition is confused."
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson refused to weigh into the discussion around tackling.
"I've got other things to worry about," he said.
"I'm not sure where the instances are in Bevo's approach to it, but it hasn't come across my desk in terms of being an alarming trend in that space, but maybe it has been in Dogs games."
