Low blows end up in confusion for Crows Alwyn Davey gets a free from Brent Reilly sliding in. Picture: Simon Cross Source: The Australian THE season is just two games old but a new rule is creating havoc, with three players on the weekend having problems adapting to the law outlawing forceful contact to an opponent below his knees. Adelaide gave away two free kicks in its 35-point loss to Essendon at AAMI Stadium on Friday night, and one penalty was paid at Patersons Stadium in Saturday's western derby won by Fremantle. Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson appeared to have been caught off guard by the new rule. Clubs were advised last October that prohibited contact below the knees would not be tolerated amid concerns about players' safety and welfare. The rule was activated as an extension to the sliding rule introduced last year after Gary Rohan's leg was broken when the Swans midfielder was collected low by North's Lindsay Thomas. A free kick is awarded for making contact with any part of the body against an opposition player below the knees, but does not apply to a smother with arms or hands. Just as sliding feet or knees-first into a contest will be deemed rough conduct and a reportable offence, any forceful contact below the knees can also be a reportable offence if it is considered to be unreasonable in the circumstances. None of the round-one penalties was considered reportable by umpires. North Melbourne key forward Drew Petrie yesterday put a commonsense approach on the early controversy surrounding the new rule, when he said it was a clear-cut position. "You can still go in hard, but just keep your feet," he said. It's always been a fundamental of the game anyway, to keep our feet. Sanderson conceded that his coaching staff needed to teach his players a better technique despite five months of pre-season preparations to get used the new rule, one of three rule changes this season as well as a host of well-documented stricter interpretations of other longstanding rules. Sanderson said his players battled to adjust to the new rule, surprisingly labelling them "guinea pigs" for the rest of the competition in the opening match of the season. The AFL umpiring department said yesterday it felt "comfortable" with the enforcement of the contact-below-the-knees rule. The league said players had ample time to play under the new rule when it was tested during the pre-season competition. It pointed out that during the 18 games of the NAB Cup second and third rounds, 29 free kicks were paid against players making low contact to opponents. Crows defender Brent Reilly conceded a goal to Essendon's Alwyn Davey as a direct result of making contact below the knees. But despite the well-advertised new laws of the game, and following consultations with the AFL umpiring department, Sanderson said: "It's a tricky one because it looked like 'Radar' (Reilly) was going for the ball. On the other hand, Essendon coach James Hird said his players had been trained to adapt to the new rule. "We spent a bit of time since our last NAB Cup game against GWS practising some things, not to get a free kick, but to avoid a free kick -- the way we tackle, the way we go for the ball and that has certainly helped us," he said.