The AFL is seriously considering the introduction of a send-off rule in 2019.
Discussions will be held over the idea in the off-season, along with other changes to the game.
Starting zones for players and a larger goalsquare already look likely for next year’s competition, but a ‘red-card’ system seemed to have been knocked on the head after lengthy discussions followed Andrew Gaff’s hit on Andrew Brayshaw.
Gaff received an eight-match ban that saw him miss West Coast’s premiership win.
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At the time AFL CEO Gill McLachlan said the incident was not going to change his mind on a send-off rule.
I played in the amateurs where send-offs applied, there were inconsistencies there," McLachlan told the AFL website in August.
"I think if you did it, you couldn't really go to a video referee. I think the umpires would have to make a call on the spot.
"I think our system generally works very well. For one or two incidents a year the deterrent is clearly there. We don't see that stuff much in our game anymore and I think we have a system of accountability that works well."
Alternative ways to deal with serious altercations are also being considered, including a ‘sin bin’ in which offending players would be forced to stay while incidents are reviewed, and a separate substitute player that could be promoted in-game to replace the victim of an illegal hit, such as Brayshaw.
Rules to deal with players fending off opposition players with their boots - as Toby Greene has notoriously done on a number of occasions - are also being considered.