as3 preloading question

Hi guys,

Anyone see this type of error when preloading an external SWF using the loader class???

TypeError: Error #1009: Cannot access a property or method of a null object reference.
at Ball$iinit()
at Bowling$iinit()

I’m bringing in the game SWF reference in using XML, and the file reference traces properly and even loads properly when I load the game SWF into a dummy file, but the moment I load the game SWF into my game shell this is the error I get.

Also I load the game SWF the same way in both the dummy and game shell files.

Has anyone seen anything like this? a null object reference when you know it should load?