"I just don't know how a stretcher's called, when there's a live ball inside your own 50, how the game's allowed to stop," Leppitsch said. "I don't know the ruling behind it, maybe I'm wrong, but my understanding is the play has to stop before a stretcher comes out, not the other way around. Lions coach Justin Leppitsch speaks to an official about the stretcher rules after Sunday's match. Credit:Getty Images "We all saw it; the bloke [Sinclair] tripped over his own feet and they called a stretcher. We're three points down with a live ball in our forward 50 and they can get 18 players down there. "So, can we use it as a tactic now? I'd be highly disappointed if it was used as a tactic, when a bloke's gone down assumedly with cramp, after tripping over his own feet, and a runner has called for a stretcher because they're down in numbers late in the game and we've got the ball in our forward 50. "Wouldn't you be filthy? Of course you would be. So I'll get some answers on that – whether it was an error by the officials or, you know, a state-of-game thing where Sydney took advantage of a rule."

However, AFL Rules appear to vindicate the umpires' ruling. Rule 7.3.2, regarding the procedure over the use of stretchers, reads as follows: "Upon being advised or noticing that a Player requires a stretcher, the field Umpire shall stop play at the earliest opportunity" – meaning that regardless of the circumstances of the game, the umpire made the right call. Play was then correctly re-started with a ball-up. The Swans won the stoppage and Luke Parker kicked what turned out to be the sealer for the Swans, despite a goal in the dying seconds by the Lions' Josh Walker. Whether Sinclair required the stretcher — much less whether or not it was a deliberate tactical decision by the Swans — is another matter. "Initially I think he's OK, it looked worse than what it is in the end," said Swans coach John Longmire, whose press conference preceded Leppitsch's. "After the game he was actually OK." Leppitsch admitted that he was unfamiliar with the stretcher rules, but remained frustrated. "You don't like in the last three minutes of the game those things affecting the state of play. Did you all stop and go, what's going on here? No one knew, because no one really understood.