AFL UMPIRES manager Jeff Gieschen has backed a deliberate out-of-bounds call against St Kilda's Leigh Montagna at the Gabba on Thursday night, even though the midfielder's kick gained around 60 metres for his team.

Montagna gathered the ball in the Saints' defensive 50 during the third term and looked up to see a wall of Brisbane Lions opponents.

He kicked long towards the half-forward flank, and the ball skidded over the boundary line, aided by a greasy surface.

Gieschen explained that Montagna's intent, not the distance the ball covered, was the key question in assessing the decision.

The umpires boss therefore supported the field umpire in determining that Montagna was trying to get the ball out of play.
 
"It was a big call, there's no question about that," Gieschen said on his weekly afl.com.au show OPSM What's Your Decision?.

"Montagna picks up the ball and runs towards goals, but then he changes his mind a little bit when he looks up and sees no teammates in the vicinity.

"He could have kicked it through the corridor, but he elected to run out wide and then kick it as hard as he can to the boundary line."

Gieschen revealed that the umpiring department has been asked to get tougher on deliberate out-of-bounds as teams increasingly seek to create stoppages in a bid to get numbers around the ball.

"We know that clubs try to force stoppages if they've got no-one forward," he said.

"We don't want a game full of stoppage after stoppage after stoppage.

"Players have just got to realise that they can't go to the boundary line with intent.

"Although it was a long kick [by Montagna], there was still intent to get the ball out of bounds."

Gieschen also revealed that a boundary umpire who incorrectly ruled that Western Bulldog Brian Lake stayed in play as he ran around the boundary against Fremantle on Monday night would be dropped to his state league.

"I don't think in all the time I've been watching AFL games I've ever seen a [wrong] boundary umpiring decision as blatant as that," Gieschen said.

"Unfortunately for that boundary umpire, he certainly won't be umpiring [at AFL level] this week and we'll determine over the next few weeks when we bring him back."

Watch OPSM What's Your Decision? for vision of those incidents, plus Gieschen's verdict on Dustin Fletcher's push of Chris Dawes, a crucial free kick to Richmond's Dustin Martin, and a penalty against Geelong's doctor for interfering with play.