RICHMOND skipper Trent Cotchin believes the hotly-debated deliberate rushed behind free kick paid against the Tigers has created even more confusion amongst players.

The ambiguous rule was thrust back into the spotlight when Richmond defender Jayden Short was penalised during Saturday night's clash against Essendon at the MCG.

With the Tigers two points ahead late in the first half, Short guided James Stewart's bouncing long bomb over the Bombers' goal line, only to be pinged for a deliberate rushed behind.

Replays showed Short was hard done by, with Essendon forward Josh Green - who slotted the resulting free kick - chasing him all the way into the goal square.

The decision handed the Bombers a narrow half-time lead before the Tigers regrouped to claim a 11.15 (81) to 10.6 (66) victory.

"I think what we're getting out of this is that there is still confusion," Cotchin said on 3AW on Sunday.

"If I was 'Shorty' I probably would have done the same thing and would have felt pretty hard done by, by the call.

"But they're the adjudicators of the game ... that's the hardest thing when you leave it up to interpretation I suppose.

"I don't think there's any worse position to be in running back towards the opposition goal and not knowing what sort of heat is behind you ... especially when Green pulls up.

"We're trying to encourage people to just play the footy and the one person who did that got pinged."