GEELONG midfielder Cam Guthrie has questioned why the umpire blew his whistle as forward Tom Hawkins was lining up for goal after the siren in Saturday night's drawn match with Greater Western Sydney.

With the final siren sounding, Hawkins was walking in to complete his set shot routine when the nearest umpire blew his whistle and raised his arms to signal the end of the game. 

The umpire blew his whistle a few seconds after the siren went and a split second before Hawkins launched his kick, raising questions about whether Hawkins was distracted by the whistleblower. 

Guthrie said he was confused by the officiator's decision to blow it before Hawkins' kick at goal. 

"I think it's a strange one to blow it because as players, we're quite conditioned to respond to the whistle," Guthrie told radio station 3AW on Sunday. 

"I actually thought it was a 50m penalty. I was thinking, 'Why is he blowing the whistle at this time?' 

"I just think you can wait until after the kick's been taken.

"I'd like to see it blown well after he kicks the footy, personally." 

An AFL spokesman provided an explanation to AFL.com.au on Sunday, saying an umpire is required to signal the end of play by blowing his whistle as soon as he hears the siren.

"A player obviously knows at that point that he cannot play on otherwise his kick doesn't count," the League spokesman said.

"But the player can stop his run-up and go back if he wishes."

Hawkins subsequently missed the set shot to level the scores.