It was one of the more controversial decisions from Sunday’s match, and now the AFL admits a free kick paid to Adam McPhee during the second term was incorrect.

North’s Lindsay Thomas looked to be in a position to pick up the ball before McPhee slid into the contest head first, colliding with his opponent’s knee. The Dockers’ player eventually left the field following the head knock.

“In this case we can see (Adam) McPhee throw himself at the ball. Thomas is virtually still. In fact Thomas tries to jump over McPhee as he comes towards him, so he’s done nothing wrong,” AFL umpires boss Jeff Gieschen told afl.com.au.

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“We’ve paid the free kick for high contact, but I think everyone who sees that knows all the contact was caused by Adam for propelling himself at Lindsay Thomas.

The incident drew comparisons with another coincidentally involving Thomas that saw Gary Rohan outed for the season with a broken leg in Round 4.

In that case, the North forward was charged with sliding, but eventually cleared at the AFL Tribunal.

Former Kangaroo Wayne Schwass weighted into the debate.

“That’s careless by Adam McPhee. It’s careless, it’s reckless and I think he puts himself in danger,” he said.

“We are also lucky we’re not saying that Lindsay Thomas is going to miss the rest of the year because he’s got a similar break in his leg to what Gary Rohan had. We can’t have that in the game.”