St Kilda coach Scott Watters has accused Sydney’s defenders of blocking his team’s forwards from a distance that breaches AFL rules.

While he avoided directly saying the Swans were getting away with acting outside the game’s rules or spirit, Watters pointedly described their actions as “pretty interesting” and worthy of a closer look.

“Their defenders are very good defenders. I think they block off the ball better than any defensive group in the league,” he told reporters after Thursday night’s match in Wellington.

“We need to have a really good look at the way they block from 10 or 15 metres away off the ball and see if we can bring some of that into our game.

“Some of their blocking, yeah, was pretty interesting.”

It’s against AFL rules to block a player standing more than five metres from the ball.

But asked if he was accusing the Swans of getting away with illegal tactics, Watters replied: “You said that. I didn’t say that.”

“We need to have a good look at the way they block 10 or 15 metres off the ball and don’t get infringed against,” he said.