The AFL has been made aware of a rare blunder from St Kilda during their round 15 victory over Richmond.

Late in the first quarter, the Saints fielded a 19th man for nearly half-a-minute before the mistake was quickly rectified.

The interchange steward became aware and immediately notified the club official, match manager and emergency umpire, but no penalty was paid.

The error came after Jimmy Webster, Seb Ross, Mason Wood and Rohan Marshall replaced only three Saints players who had run to the interchange bench.

Play continued with Rohan Marshall competing and winning a hit-out from a throw in before the St Kilda runner called Marshall off the field.

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The penalty at AFL level for having 19-players on the field is an immediate free-kick from the point of the ball plus a 50-metre penalty.

Fox Footy'sย Tom Morris scoured the "Laws of the Game" rule-book to find the relevant provision:

โ€œIn the event of more than 18 players on field, AFL Regulation 12.9.b (iii) shall apply:

โ€œThe AFL Interchange Official shall notify an Umpire who will then award a Free Kick and a 50-metre penalty when:

โ€œTheย replacement Player enters the Playing Surface and who is deemed by the emergency Umpire to be involved in play prior to the Player to be replaced leaving the Playing Surface.โ€

At lower levels, the penalty is more severe. Captains can call for a headcount with a guilty side facing their entire score for the quarter being wiped.

The incident is not the first occurrence of an interchange debacle in the AFL.

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Interestingly, the Saints were accused of fielding an extra player by the Eagles' skipper Guy McKenna in 1999.

The former Suns' coach became just the third captain in AFL/VFL history to call for a headcount in the Round 22 clash at the WACA.

McKenna's move was made in a bid to wipe the entirety of the Saints' score that night - a game the visitors would comfortably win by 41-points.

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Essendon made a similar error to the Saints in 2018 when 19-players ran out before the bounce of the fourth quarter.

Emergency umpire Justin Schmitt alerted the field umpire, allowing defender Mark Baguley to run from the field before play commenced.

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In 2008, the AFL issued a 'please explain' to Sydney after a controversial blunder in the final minutes of a draw against North Melbourne.

A 19th Swan, Darren Jolly, stayed on the field for 30-seconds and even assisted the match-tying point, before he was rushed off the ground. As with the latter cases, no penalty was paid at the time.

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In the week following St Kilda's Round 15 breach, all clubs were sent a memo notifying them of changes to interchange policy. The AFL insists the memo was unrelated to the incident.

โ€œThe interchange gate holding area line will be increase from 1.5 metres from the boundary line to 2.5 metres from the boundary line,โ€ former football operations boss Steve Hocking wrote in a league-wide email.

โ€œMoving the interchange gate back will reduce the risk of players and umpires on field coming into contact with players and club officials standing in the interchange holding area.โ€

Neither Richmond or St Kilda have made any public comment on the matter.