[EricH]

You're on the wrong rule. <G16> only governs the actions of the human players returning the balls to the field--they have to be placed on the return, using the trident. Once they're on the return, a different rule governs not contacting a ball in contact with the return, and another one governs contact with the return and return bars.

I know why you're asking the question. For your own good, I would suggest not asking further, as the topic can easily rub someone the wrong way, especially after it's been discussed ad nauseum for the past 3-4 weeks.