The Swans have been accused of "tunnelling", a tactic whereby the marking player, in this case Riewoldt, has been bumped by his opponent on his lower boady while in mid-air.

"It is incredibly dangerous because it can result in a player falling on their head," St Kilda spokesman Matt Schmidt said.

Sydney coach Paul Roos denies that any occurrence of such tactics were deliberate and considers the accusations offensive.

"I would think that would be insulting. I'd never heard of the tactic, so it's pretty hard to use something you've never heard of," Roos said.

"I hope there isn't any insinuation it is deliberate because that is not the case. I am just trying to get in the best marking position," Swans defender Craig Bolton said of the allegations against him.

Roos later accuses St Kilda chief executive Archie Fraser of slurring Swans defender Bolton saying that it would have been better had Fraser gone through alternative channels to voice his concerns rather than directly through the media.

"I think we need to make it clear to Archie that's not the appropriate way to do things," Roos said.

"It's a bit of a slur on Craig, he's a captain of our footy club and it's a bit of a slur on us."

Fraser responds by saying that the complaint is not meant to be interpreted as an attack on the Swans.

"Our clubs continue to have a good relationship," Fraser said.

"None of this was ever intended as an attack on Sydney. As a club we raised the question to seek clarification of the rules and it's up to the AFL to interpret the rules for the competition."