AFL premiership player, long-serving coach and now media pundit Terry Wallace has called for the reintroduction of a substitute rule specifically for concussions and major injuries to enable medical experts to better treat head knocks.
Wallace said more players were being removed from matches with concussion because of an improved understanding of detecting the symptoms.
A substitute rule - strictly for serious injuries - would arm medical staff with the ability to make tougher calls on head injuries without fear that pulling the player from the field would significantly hamper the team, Wallace said. "If a doctor knew that there was someone there who could replace the player, the doctor might make the right decision immediately, particularly if it's a 50-50 call," Wallace told ESPN.
"We shouldn't be having guys trying to hang in because they don't want to disappoint their teammates and team.
"What would happen with this is that if you don't come on, you'll still play VFL footy. You're not just playing a quarter every week. Most clubs take an emergency to the game anyway, so they can be on standby.
"Statistics over a long period of time clearly tell you that if you're a player or two down - it doesn't mean you can't win - you are far less likely to win."
The former Western Bulldogs and Richmond coach, a triple premiership player at Hawthorn, says the unpopularity of the previous sub rule would impact his proposal getting off the ground.
"Those in the industry - players, coaches - it's well-received, because they understand the impact it has," he said. "Those who are watchers of the game, who didn't like the sub rule in the first place, are so negative on it it's ridiculous.
"I come from a generation where I know people who have been impacted by concussion.
"I hope that the next generation are not dealing with some of the problems that past generations have dealt with."
Back in black (and white)
Matthew Scharenberg says he never considered turning his back on AFL after enduring a tumultuous and morale-sapping run with injury.
The prized Collingwood draftee made his long-awaited return on Sunday in the Magpies' 45-point win over Brisbane, 630 days since he last donned the black and white.
"It's been a long time but [it was] great to finally be back out there and to get a win as well was so good," Scharenberg told ESPN.
"Driving into the game ... you couldn't help thinking of everything you've sort of been through injury wise and how long it's taken to get back to this stage."
Scharenberg spent his first two years at the club on the sidelines recovering from broken feet.
Then consecutive knee reconstructions - one on each knee - further disrupted the South Australian's top-flight footy ambitions.
But the 21-year-old insists he remained determined to reach his lofty potential after being selected at pick No.6 in the 2013 draft.
"[I] never considered that [retiring]. It was just more just the frustration of it, especially after the second knee having to go through the whole process again because I knew what I was in for a pretty long road 12 months out," he said.
"When you're hit with another challenge you've got a choice to make. Either respond and use it to make yourself better and that was just the option I took. I know it's a bit of a cliché' but I just had to try and be as positive as I could and just trust the process."
The classy rebounding defender averaged 29 disposals in his past six VFL outings in a dominant stretch of performances before he earned his recall.
He says the strength of the Magpies' backline meant he had to bide his time until a rare opportunity arose: "If you look back to the first nine rounds of this season, our backline's been performing so well, it's been a really tough backline to get into. Everyone's been performing so I had to really earn my spot."
No wildcards, for now
The evenness and excitement of the 2017 season is likely to mean that the AFL Commission calls a halt to its controversial plans for a 'wildcard' addition to the 2018 season fixture.
League CEO Gillon McLachlan had been keen to introduce a new element to the annual fixture to counter the number of 'dead rubbers' - matches without meaning - at the end of each season. He has floated the idea of a 17-5 or 18-4 game season, in which the last month of the season would involve a new mini-competition with special 'wildcard' rewards.
But the word coming out of AFL headquarters is that there's been a re-think about the merits of such a plan. So it's likely to be put on ice for at least 12 months.
In the 10 rounds so far this year, upsets have been rife, one round involved each of the nine lower-ranked teams winning, and several results have been decided in the dying moments of games, or after the siren.
The prevailing school of thought is that the league's equalisation policies were now washing through the system, and producing one of the most exciting seasons in memory. There was no standout team at the top of the ladder and, with the possible exception of Brisbane, no easybeats either.
That being the case, expect the 2018 season fixture to be drawn up in the traditional way, with no mention of wildcards.
If you don't mind, umpires!
The AFL umpiring department will again trial four field umpires across all six matches during the bye rounds over the next three weeks.
The experiment was first tried last year but AFL umpires boss Hayden Kennedy said the league again wanted to see what impact a four-umpire trial has in premiership season matches.
What the extra whistleblower might be on the lookout for are throws from inside scrimmages and heavy traffic - an increasing trend in the modern game. The Western Bulldogs are masters at the blink-and-you'll-miss-it flick which often goes unnoticed and unpenalised. Some players such as Melbourne's Clayton Oliver and Essendon's Jobe Watson have also perfected the art.
Such is the congestion around most stoppages, and so quick are players' hands these days, that umpires have an unenviable task in trying to sort out the throws from the legitimate handballs. An extra umpire could help in identifying the miscreants.
Since 1993, three field umpires have policed AFL matches.
But there was a time not so long ago when just one man in white ran the whole show. In the 1970 Carlton-Collingwood Grand Final, Don Jolley was the sole umpire and paid an astonishing 90 free kicks. So far in 2017, the average number of free kicks paid per match is 37.
THIS WEEK'S MEMORABLE MILESTONES and FABULOUS FEATS:
Triple treat - Essendon's Brendon Goddard is due to become the 80th player in VFL/AFL history to reach 300 games, having joined the Dons from St Kilda in 2012. He joins Robert Murphy and James Kelly in reaching the milestone this season.
Indigenous icon - Adelaide's favourite forward pocket, Eddie Betts, is due to play his 264th game this week, drawing level with Chris Johnson (264 games for Fitzroy and Brisbane) in seventh spot for most games by an Aboriginal/Torres Strait Island player. That list is headed by Adam Goodes (372 games, Sydney) and Andrew McLeod (340 games, Adelaide).
Ross the Boss - Fremantle coach Ross Lyon will coach his 130th game this week for the Dockers, eclipsing the previous club record of 129 games established by Chris Connolly.