Carlton's head doctor has stepped away from the club, with no exact return date confirmed.

Did the Pies miss a trick when managing Scott Pendlebury on Anzac Day?

And who has the final say? ARC doctors or club doctors?

All that and more from media buzz...

Bye, bye Blues doctor

Carlton's head doctor Matt Chamberlain is understood to have taken personal leave amid the ongoing AFL investigation into the management of Elijah Hollands two weeks ago.

Reported on the Agenda Setters, Chamberlain is understood to be considering legal options but the Blues is unsure exactly when it is he'll return.

ARC doctor vs club doctor

The AFL has issued and reissued information stating that AFL Review Centre (ARC) doctors will take priority over concussion calls going forward after a major blunder two weeks ago.

Essendon's Tom Edwards was knocked, and passed the club doctors HIA before returning to the ground. Not long after, he was swiftly removed from the game by the spotters, which caused confusion about who take priority over the decision making.

According to reports on the Agenda Setters, it remains that the ARC spotters will be favoured in decisions.

"They cooked him": Pies blasted over Pendles management

Media personality Kane Cornes says Collingwood has mishandled the management of veteran Scott Pendlebury ahead of a significant three-week stretch which consists of clashes against Hawthorn, Geelong and Sydney.

Pendlebury won his fourth Anzac Day Medal (record) and collected 43 possessions (career best) against Essendon, but given the five-day turnaround, will likely sit out Thursday's game against Hawthorn.

He played 82 percent of the second quarter; 89 percent of the third and 92 percent of the fourth, leading to Cornes' criticism.

When will Butters make contract call?

Port Adelaide free agent Zak Butters is in no rush to decide his future as a host of AFL clubs circle for his signature.

Butters has the lure of returning to Victoria, with the Western Bulldogs, Geelong, Hawthorn and Collingwood interested. But the Power shouldn't be discounted, who will no doubt force a trade if the gun on-baller wants to depart.

"Nothing has really changed my mind," Butters told reporters on Monday. "I feel like the end of season will probably be when I make my decision.

"And I think I'll be sticking to that all year.

"I'm really enjoying my footy right now, seeing these young kids come through. And I feel like we've got a few boys still to come back in with Connor (Rozee) and a few boys still missing, so I think the future is pretty bright."

AFL umpire academy?

Former Hawthorn star Jordan Lewis has produced a left-field proposal that could help streamline and filter umpires towards the top flight amid a crisis over the quality of the cohort.

Delisted players and retirees could be offered development opportunities in a bid to improve the level of umpiring.

"We always here that there aren't many umpires coming through and the quality of the umpires, that we've got eight or 10 really good ones and then the quality of the umpires drops away," Lewis told On The Couch.

"There are 18 teams currently in the AFL and on average about 70 to 100 players that exit the game (each year), so why don't the AFL put together an academy for ex-players to then become umpires and fast-track them in a way?

"They might have to do a year in VFL to get used to the games and knowing where to stand, and then progress them if they're any good into the AFL system.

"I think there are two reasons why it works well.

"Firstly they're paid anywhere between $100,000 and $200,000 for effectively part-time hours, which is more than you'd get as a development coach.

"So not only are you doing that on weekends, you've got Monday to Friday to then further your career in any other industry that you can think of.

"I think it's a great mix for players to be able to go through that little pathway together, as sometimes it's a little intimidating to do it yourself and there's only two ex-AFL players that are central umpires.

" think it is something the AFL should look into."

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