Carlton coach Mick Malthouse says umpire respect in the AFL is a two-way street.

In the wake of last Friday night’s controversial five-point loss to Geelong, Malthouse and his lieutenant Rob Wiley will meet with umpires coach Hayden Kennedy on Thursday.

The Blues are concerned with umpires’ interpretations following their narrow losses to the Cats and Brisbane.

Malthouse also contends the umpires need to work on how they talk to players in the heat of a match.

“I just think that we have to have a greater understanding of the demands on the umpires and also the players, basically, just want to know an answer and they need to be treated respectfully back,” he said.

“It’s got to be two-way and if you build up a two-way relationship it’s far better than a one-way one, let’s face it.

“And when you’ve got that the game improves.”

Malthouse said the AFL should look at rugby, where umpires must refer to players by their guernsey numbers.

He said their system was done on a basis that is highly professional.

Malthouse was fuming after Friday night’s loss, where two bad umpiring decisions robbed the Blues.

One umpire failed to recall a centre bounce in the second term that directly resulted in a Geelong goal.

Then, a free for high contact was not paid to Carlton forward Troy Menzel only a few metres from goal in the frenetic last minute of the game.

“It would be fair to say we all praise the difference between ‘tiggy touchwood’ (free kicks) to letting the game go,” Malthouse said.

“But we’re now increasingly frustrated with the consistency on a week-to-week basis and umpire-to-umpire interpretation.”