[JesseK]

Seems plausible to reduce cycle times, yet an offensive robot coming back to the secret passage to get a ball would put this strategy in a world of hurt. The other alliance bot would push your bot back onto the courtyard carpet, and if you resist or push back you may wind up with a pretty bad foul regardless of whether the other bot initiated the first contact. The offensive bot is simply coming to get boulders, so it's tough to say they intended to force you into a penalty.