AFL NAB Cup Round 2

Here is a question.  In regards to returning the ball to somebody with a free kick, it must be on the full, to the person with the free kick, or it is a 50 metre penalty.
Now I just saw the ball played down the field, and the Hawks to kick it back to the player, which went nowhere near the man, who then had to go and fetch it.

Now the circumstances, were the ball was about 60 metres away and skills had to be spot on to get it back to him on the full.

So the question, is where is the line in regards to an acceptable distance to get it back to him on the full?
I am certainly not suggesting it should have been 50 metres, but often wonder about the less skilled players giving away 50 metres from simply honestly missing.

So what actually is the rule?