Hi @BenditLikeBeckOhm,
This is indeed what the rule change was meant to say, and also my interpretation of the rule.
I totally understand your sentiment here. Personally, I do not like the "Robots must respond to the ball in a direct forward movement" sentence that can be found earlier in 3.5, as it assumes that for each robot in each possible situation it is obvious to say what does "forward movement" mean. At least for me, this is not always the case, nor do the rules provide any further clarification. As such, it seems that this sentence will probably be removed in the following editions of the rules.
Thanks for the question again -- I hope my answer helps to clarify the situation a bit. If not, please feel free to ask further.
Thanks!
-- Marek