The Geelong-Max Holmes injury debacle should be reason enough for the AFL to scrap the long-maligned substitute role.
In Saturday night's preliminary final, Holmes appeared to have damaged his hamstring - a repeat of the heartbreak he experienced two years earlier - and was sidelined for over 15 minutes before re-entering the field.
Despite many pundits believing that Chris Scott should've made the tough call to replace the speedster for substitute Mitch Duncan earlier, it begs the question of why the role is still in our game.
Holmes re-entered the ground, grimacing and uncertain, and it was quickly noted that after multiple efforts, he wasn't right.
During that time of indecision, Geelong lost control of a 25-point lead as one of their prime movers sat idly by as a spot in the AFL Grand Final was ripped away.
Early in the fourth quarter, Duncan was injected into the game.
Scott said that the teetering between replacing Holmes was challenging but wasn't a deciding factor in the result.
"It's a little bit difficult to explain because it hasn't been our focus in the immediate aftermath. I don't think it's serious necessarily, but there was enough uncertainty for him to be off the ground for a long enough period of time and certainly enough uncertainty for us not to make our sub," Scott said post-game.
"It was a frustrating period there for everyone, but in terms of a full-on complete explanation, I can't give you one at the moment other than to say he was concerned about it, and it took a bit of time to work through."
Geelong was ultimately hindered by the process of 'should we, shouldn't we' and was down a man for most of the third quarter.
The Cats have to live with that decision, albeit within the parameters set by the AFL.
Brisbane also lived a similar fate of delaying the activation of their sub Conor McKenna once Oscar McInerney dislocated his shoulder.
The Lions held off on making the call in case of further injury to McInerney's teammates but eventually made the call.
But without the sub-rule, both sides would be able to send player 23 onto the field, allowing an assessment of the injured stars to take place.
Which, in past circumstances, have been rushed, adding more angst to players and coaches.
Essendon coach Brad Scott said earlier in the year it only ensures more pressure is placed on the club's doctors.
"If we didn't have a sub, we wouldn't have to worry about rushing the doctors to get a concussion diagnosis or not, we'd just put the fresh player on who's sitting there," Scott said following the ANZAC Day clash with Collingwood.
"But then we're sitting there with the fresh player, while we're assessing a key forward, while the game is on the line. The sub's supposed to take the pressure off the doctor? I'd love someone to explain that to me, I've got no idea."
