St Kilda midfielder Marcus Windhager crossed a line while trying to clamp down on Collingwood star Nick Daicos. A pair of free kicks awarded to Daicos against Windhager, and a $1,000 fine later imposed on the Saint, are a small price to pay out of their running battle on Saturday night.

It was all part of a two-way tussle that Ross Lyon called “a bit of theatre” as he defended his combative midfielder after the game that the Magpies won by 34 points. The Saints’ coach even queried whether there are “two sets of rules going around” – but Lyon is unlikely to like the answer he receives, while a greater good can come from the spotlight being shone on Windhager’s tagging tactics

Daicos isn’t the first AFL player to face a tagger. Let’s hope he isn’t the last. Only the most one-eyed supporters want to see the stars of the game treated like a protected species while running around doing as they please. Close-checking on a potential match-winner – whether a gun midfielder or dangerous forward – does not have to be a blight on the game. It tends to throw a pinch of spice into the contest and can add to the spectacle between two otherwise far from evenly-matched teams.

The Magpies’ vice-captain knows what is coming his way each time he laces up his boots. The umpires are surely aware too, while holding the keys to punishing and in turn preventing foul play. But even with the extra eyeballs of having four field umpires watching the game up close, Windhager was hardly sanctioned as he niggled, pinched, scragged and lifted his knee into the back of Daicos’s leg.

“They both had their moments, Daicos had a fair bit of ball,” Lyon said after the game. “I know we’ll probably go early, look at a couple of those free kicks, I’m not sure they were free kicks. But I think we’ll take that in and ask the question, are there two sets of rules going around? I’m not sure.”

Windhager made his intentions clear before the opening bounce, as he bumped and pushed Daicos in the middle of the ground. These were typical tactics for someone tasked with limiting the influence of one of the best players in the game.

Immediately after the first bounce the umpires put Windhager on high alert. An open-handed whack into Daicos’s midriff left the Magpie searching for breath as he prepared to take his free kick. Windhager stood the mark smirking and shaking his head over the decision, but the match review officer backed the umpire’s call as a fine was handed down the following day.

Long gone are the days when the leading players, or their teammates, can take matters into their own hands. But Daicos turned the tables at the next centre bounce when he brought Windhager to ground in a tackle and was prepared to give away a free kick to make his own statement when shoving the Saint back into the turf. The clashes continued for the remainder of the game though Windhager would give away just one more free kick to Daicos for holding onto him without the ball.

The effectiveness of giving up one player to nullify the impact of an opponent will remain one up for debate. When it works, it can be a game-changer. Though having only 17 players focused on the ball too often leaves a side competing like they are one short.

Windhager tagged Daicos for 36 minutes when the two sides last met, before the shackles were released after half-time. Daicos finished with 22 disposals and three clearances on a relatively quiet day. Windhager earned two coaches votes for his 24 touches and seven clearances as the Saints pulled away to a shock win over the then-reigning premier.

The Saints’ disruptor-in-chief has become one of the best run-with players in the game. He restricted Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli to his lowest disposal count for five years with only 14 last week. Windhager played his role, but it could not prevent the Saints being trounced by 72 points.

“The job of the tagger is to disrupt, isn’t it? That’s his job. He’s doing that within the rules, I suppose, if they don’t pick it up,” McRae told Fox Footy on Saturday night. “I’m not going to comment on the kneeing and things like that. That’s obviously up to others to decide if that’s a bit too far.

“I just loved how Nick got on with it tonight. One of the big things with being a tagger is, ‘let’s see if they can go with you?’ Some weeks they can run with you, some weeks they can’t. Again, I thought Nick won that battle.”

Daicos was back to being one of the best afield this time against the Saints with 30 disposals and five clearances. The 22-year-old even had a final say with a team-lifting goal late in the game. Whether Windhager is sent to Daicos for round three the next time the Saints and Pies meet is something for Lyon to decide. But whether any cheap shots and underhand tactics are stamped out or allowed to run free is a question that should be left for the umpires of the day.