The AFL has been forced into an early re-think of the third-man up rule, following a bizarre free kick on the weekend.

A free kick was paid against Adelaide's Dean Gore on Sunday, after the ball hit him on the full from a boundary throw in.

The new third-man up rule states that the ruckmen must be the first players to touch the ball from either a ball-up or a thrown in. The rule also states that if the ruckmen do not touch the ball, it must touch the ground first before another player can touch it.

However, the weekend saw a potential unexpected controversy around the rule. A throw from the umpire during the Crows-Cats clash on Sunday landed short, with the ball hitting Gore on the back of the head who facing the ruckmen waiting for a tap.

With the Adelaide midfielder caught unawares and seemingly undeserving of being penalised, the AFL has been forced to re-assess the technicalities around the rule.

AFL Umpire's Peter Schwab spoke to the media on Monday afternoon, stating the League will contact clubs this week about the rule.

Schwab said if clubs are in favour of changing the rule to ensure a free kick is not awarded if a similar incident occurs, then a change could take place as early as this week.