"We'll sort it out later."

Those were the words of the umpire on Saturday night as Ty Vickery stood on the mark, having given away a free kick under the AFL's new third-man-up rule.

The umpire, having asked the Hawks to nominate a ruckman against the Bombers, saw another player's hand go up and penalised Vickery, who arrived late to the contest.

"Farcical" and "absurd" - that's how our podcasters saw the incident. But they also think the rule should stay.

Tune in to the latest episode of The Age Real Footy Podcast to find out , as well as more analysis of the big issues, including a potential "coach-killer" round two and the end – and potential beginning – of a Hawthorn era.