GEELONG coach Chris Scott says he believes players and coaches are confused about what constitutes a legal tackle in 2011.

The issue has come to the fore again after Cats midfielder Joel Corey was one of three players cited by the match review panel for slinging an opponent into the turf during games played in round 13.

Corey escaped with a reprimand after pleading guilty to rough conduct, but St Kilda forward Justin Koschitzke and Sydney Swans ruckman Shane Mumford were both handed two-match suspensions after being cited for similar incidents.

It has been widely noted that the opponent involved in the Corey tackle, Saints youngster Jack Steven, avoided injury.

However, Mitch Duncan, who was tackled by Koschitzke, was left dazed by the incident.

David Ellard, who was tackled by Mumford, left the field with concussion. He was subbed out of the game and later taken to hospital for observation.

Last month, Melbourne's Jack Trengove copped a three-game ban for a similar tackle on Adelaide's Patrick Dangerfield.

The Trengove tackle resulted in Dangerfield being subbed out of the game with concussion.

"I'm a little bit worried because our job is to make sure that we're really clear in our instructions and that the players understand the rules and we understand the rules," Scott said at Skilled Stadium on Tuesday morning.

"It's clear that if you hurt someone these days you're potentially liable.

"We need to go back and have a look at these incidents in detail and be really clear about what you can and can't do.

"Obviously there's a grey area around that. Players aren't … deliberately trying to drive a player's head into the ground.

"But if you do that you are liable for the outcome. We've got to do our best to understand the rules and coach accordingly."

Scott said he will seek clarification about the rough conduct rules from the AFL.

"We'll try," Scott said. "But I think the answer we'll get is that if you tackle a player and his head hits the ground and he gets hurt, you're in trouble.

"It's our job to make sure that our players are equipped technically to work around that."

Scott believed the match review panel was placing too much emphasis on whether a player was injured rather than whether the tackler intended to cause an injury.

"It's an interesting one isn't it?" he said. "It seems to be that way, but it's not for me to comment on what the rules should be.

"My responsibility is to make sure the players understand the rules and play within those.

"Maybe Joel [Corey] was lucky that Steven wasn't hurt more. A couple of years ago, we would've said that was an exceptional tackle.

"Now, clearly, the law-makers are saying that it's not within the rules of the game, so we have to change."