Milking frees will be monitored

Free kicks will continue to be paid to players who drop their knees into tackles or raise their arms to force tackles high despite a crackdown on players ducking this season.

But the AFL has warned that the tactic will be monitored by the Laws of the Game committee after being heavily debated in the last two years.

Several AFL coaches complained about West Coast drawing high tackles with the tactic in recent seasons.

Adam and Scott Selwood, Ashton Hams and Luke Shuey were regularly accused of turning legal tackles into head-high contact.

The AFL has adjusted the tackling interpretations this year to stop players from driving their head into an opponent. Anyone who does that in 2014 will be deemed to have had prior opportunity and they won't receive a free kick if tackled by a stationary opponent.

But the AFL's new umpiring coach Hayden Kennedy said it was decided not to change other high-tackle laws.

"The tackles around the bicep that get lifted up, they will continue to be high tackles," Kennedy said.

"Guys who see a tackle coming and drop their knees a little bit and get a head-high tackle will continue to be a head-high tackle.

"I've been on the rules committee as an observer for the last two years. It has been chatted about for the last two years. But we keep coming back to - we need to protect the ball player and the tackle has to be legal."

·West Australian field umpires Scott McPhee and Justin Orr will tonight officiate in the NAB Challenge game between Richmond and Melbourne in an attempt to earn an AFL contract.