The AFL has been urged to "abolish" the sub-rule that will ultimately alleviate the pressure on club doctors, according to Essendon coach Brad Scott.
During Friday night's two-point loss to Adelaide, Bombers midfielder Jye Caldwell suffered a heavy hit from a Ben Keays tackle in the final term which saw the club's doctors perform the necessary head assessments.
As the game was tightening, Scott made the call to sub Caldwell out of the game given the length of the evaluation, one he subsequently passed and could've resumed playing if not handed the vest.
The Essendon coach has made his feelings public about the undue pressure it then forces onto the club doctors, seeing that it is a time-sensitive situation in the heat of battle.
However, if the league were to scrap the sub, Scott believes it would assist in ensuring that the doctors aren't hastened by the importance of the player's availability.
"The frustration is we want to give the doctors the best environment to assess players, and that's off-the-field," Scott said on Wednesday.
"People would say we didn't have to activate it (the sub on Caldwell), but common sense would say we did.
"If you really want to take the pressure off the doctor abolish the sub, there's just no reason to have it.
"Have five on the bench and then clubs don't get disadvantaged, the pressure is off the doctors and they can take their time to make the assessment and you're not making decisions on subbing players in or out.
"It's just to me what's best for player welfare and player safety."
Scott's comments come as the AFL's doctor association made a push to halt play following a potential concussion event, noting Carlton's Harry McKay on Sunday as exhibit A.
Dr Barry Rigby, the head of the association, said that it's difficult to get a proper assessment on-field after a head knock, saying Head Injury Assessments (HIA) are in essence inefficient and challenging, according to theย Herald Sun.
MORE: SEE MORE FROM Dr. Barry Rigby regarding HIA's
Rigby's notion was quickly supported by the AFLPA, saying they "support the principle of removing players from the field to assess significant head injuries that occur during play," says AFLPA acting chief executive Regan Bunny.
"If this means temporarily stopping the match by officials or umpires to safely remove players in this situation, we are open to exploring this with the AFL and the AFLDA to understand the practicalities of doing so."
Sydney coach John Longmire suggested HIAs should be treated in the same vein as blood rules.
