HAWTHORN midfielder Brad Sewell sees nothing wrong with players shrugging their shoulders in a tackle to draw a free kick for high contact, saying it's up to the tackler to adjust.

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson raised the issue after Saturday night's loss to West Coast, suggesting the Eagles, led by Selwood brothers Adam and Scott, were competition leaders at the tactic.

It has also been used to great effect by another Selwood brother, Geelong captain Joel.

Sewell said it could be worth the Hawks spending time practicing the technique.

"Maybe it's something they [the Selwoods] have passed around the Christmas table," he said.

"They're doing it very well and if they can somehow get control of the ball by doing so, it's within the laws of the game, so well done to them.

"It's something that every side, every player, ourselves included, need to adjust and get better at.

"We're starting to see it happen more and more in games, and if you can use it in some small way to be advantageous, then potentially [it would be worth practising]."

Sewell said the onus was on the tackler to avoid getting 'shrugged', but players faced a dilemma between tackling at the hips and giving the ball carrier a chance to handball, or tackling closer to the shoulders and conceding a free kick.

"Players are very good at getting their arms up [in a tackle] to get the ball away, so as a tackler if you can prevent the ball from moving in the opposition's direction I guess you'll do that," the midfielder said.

"But obviously the opposition are becoming better at drawing a free kick out of that, so if that means you need to start tackling at the hips a bit more, which allows them to get the ball out, or you can slow them up by giving away a free kick … I'm not sure."

Asked about the match review panel charge against North Melbourne's Lindsay Thomas for a slide tackle on Sydney Swan Gary Rohan, Sewell admitted there was some confusion among players about how they should attack the ball.

But the 28-year-old said it would not change his approach to the game.

"The AFL have certainly got the best intentions in looking after the players to the best of their ability and introducing rules accordingly, and we're seeing how they're played out throughout the course of the year, and this is another example of that," Sewell said.

"But at the end of the day when the ball's there you're going to try and get your hands on it, and I don't think that will change."

Mark Macgugan covers Hawks news for AFL.com.au and hawthornfc.com.au. Twitter: @AFL_MarkM.