Essendon remains confused about the AFL's ruling on Dane Rampe's scaling of a goalpost in last week's loss to Sydney after seeking clarification from the League.

Rampe was handed a suspended $1000 fine for climbing the post as Bomber David Myers' after-the-siren kick fell short of delivering Essendon a win.

It is against the rules to jump onto the goal post and the rules say Essendon should have been awarded a free kick on the goal line for the incident.

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan ticked off on the umpire's decision not to penalise Rampe, describing the call as 'practical' officiating, but then the League sanctioned Rampe for "conduct unbecoming or prejudicial to the interests of the AFL".

Coach John Worsfold said the Bombers had spoken to the AFL for some answers. 

"From what I understand, it wasn't a free kick, it was nothing to do with the Match Review Officer, but he's been fined? So, I'm not sure what basket it's fitting in. But the AFL have dealt with it, we've moved on," he said on Wednesday.

"We certainly sought out clarification from the AFL earlier in the week but now we've got to move on.

"There's an outcome, it's just about how we got to that outcome. You could say it was long-winded."

The Bombers will likely have to move on this week against Fremantle without Devon Smith, with last year's best and fairest winner possibly requiring surgery on his troublesome knee.

"He had a new incident on Friday night with that knee and investigations into that this week have identified what they think the problem is," he said.

"He needs to see a specialist so we're waiting on that final call, but it is something that may require surgery to correct."

Joe Daniher, who was rested last week against the Swans, is set to return to spearhead Essendon's attack, which has lacked marking targets in recent weeks.

Essendon's loss to the previously 18th-placed Swans left its season perched at 3-5 ahead of Saturday night's clash with the Dockers.

Worsfold said the club was working on fixing its inconsistency, and identified the Bombers' midfield and their higher inside-50 count as key areas in which the club had improved in the past 12 months.

He also admitted the Bombers' shaky start to the year meant they couldn't afford too many more slip-ups.

"The urgency's always there. You keep an eye on where the gaps are in terms of the ladder, but our absolute focus has to be on how we play this week," he said.