CROWS coach Brenton Sanderson has two apologies from AFL umpiring boss Jeff Gieschen, neither of which change Adelaide's challenge to solve its on-field form.

Gieschen has not only apologised for field umpire Ray Chamberlain calling a free kick against Crows midfielder Scott Thompson for fending off Hawthorn ruckman David Hale at AAMI Stadium on Saturday - but also a marking contest involving Thompson against Carlton a week earlier.



Each incident is in the last quarter with Gieschen admitting to Sanderson the calls against Thompson were at "vital stages" of the games.



Adelaide's official stand after the Gieschen apologies was to maintain the 11-point loss to Hawthorn was not a result of the Thompson free kick. And at 2-4 - and with finals hopes on the edge - the Crows say they have much to worry about than umpires making mistakes.



The call against Thompson - that denied the midfielder a shot on goal in the seventh minute of the last term - does demand clarity for the Crows players and the fans.



Gieschen says players can use their forearms to fend off opponents in a marking contest. But they cannot put their hands in the back of an opponent.



Gieschen also is warning players on how far they can extend their arm to keep an opponent out of a marking contest.



"You can use your forearm as a bumper bar, just to put it up if players are coming back on you (in a marking contest)," said Gieschen. "But you can't extend it out to push someone out of the way."



Of the Thompson-Hale incident, Gieschen concluded: "There was a little bit of incidental contact on the shoulder, but certainly not a push out.



"The questions you have to ask are: Was it a hand in the back? No, it wasn't. There was a bit of a touch on the shoulder.



"Was it a push out? No, it wasn't a push out either. To be a push out, there needs to be a degree of force, a straightening of the arm where there's a visible push out. In this case, no it wasn't a push in the back and it wasn't a push out in a marking contest."



Adelaide midfielder Rory Sloane was both forgiving of umpire Chamberlain yesterday - and clear on what a player can do in a marking contest.



"That did not change the outcome of the game for us," said Sloane while Gieschen rang Sanderson to apologise for two decisions against Thompson. "Umpires make mistakes, everyone makes mistakes. We make mistakes

as players.



"That (umpire) did not change the result. They got a run-on (kicking four unanswered goals) and we were not good enough to stop them."

Of his understanding of the game's laws and interpretations, Sloane said: "You can't push anyone at all in a marking contest. We have to adjust to that. You have to use your shoulders, your hips - it is definitely more challenging when your first thought is to push off someone to give yourself more space."

Originally published as Umps' apology won't help Crows