The AFL will be considering bringing in a new red card system rule after many spectators and media personalities have asked for a send off rule.
League chief executive Gillon McLachlan has stated that football boss Steve Hocking will be looking at a system after the sickening Andrew Gaff punch on Andrew Brayshaw, which ended up in the young Docker breaking his jaw and displaced several teeth.
AFL greats Jonathon Brown, Paul Roos, Gerard Healy and Gary Lyon threw their support around the idea of this rule, while Melbourne captain Nathan Jones also believes that it is warranted for severe incidents.
McLachlan states that he isn't a fan of the concept of the send off rule but Hocking will be looking at multiple ways to hold players accountable for their actions during a game.
“I’ve expressed a personal view that I think in terms of dealing with these issues, it can create as many issues as it solves,” he told 3AW on Friday.
“Steve Hocking at the end of the year, as he does every year and that role does, will look at all the possible stuff.
“He’ll look at the red card as he should, as all the other things to say can we improve our judicial system and our accountability system and he’ll consider it and all that.
“It’s my personal view that it’s got some challenges.”
North Melbourne star Shaun Higgins suggested that any player who throws a punch should serve an automatic ban in an attempt to remove it from the game.
When asked whether that would work, McLachlan said: “It could be.
“Clearly everything is on the table but what happens with that again, my instinctive response is you’ll get something that’s with no force at all and if it happened to be with a first as opposed to an elbow, I think you create challenges.
“The challenge for Steve and those who are looking at this and the clubs is not to have unintended consequences and there seems to be a potential there.”
