Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has called for an AFL-wide debate on the bump and he has no problems if it is killed off.
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One of the AFL's most influential figures, the four-time Hawks premiership coach said other features of the game had come and gone and this might be another.
The debate over head-high bumps was reignited earlier this week when Hawthorn defender Ryan Burton was cleared for concussing North Melbourne utility Shaun Higgins.
The AFL ruled that their head clash was accidental, but there is a strong sentiment that is wrong because of growing concerns around concussion in sport.
"If, in the view of the commission, we want to try to stamp out any sort of concussion at all from an accidental hit of heads, then let's discuss it and debate it," he said.
"I'm quite happy for that rule change to be the case.
"Does that mean it's the death of the bump? There's been the death of a lot of things - there's been the death of the drop kick, there's been the death of a lot of things in our game.
"If things need to die along the way because it's for the safety of our players, then that's a good thing."
There was some criticism of Clarkson's comments post-match, where he spoke about head clashes.
"My comments after the game were more to do with the way I thought the game was interpreting concussion and the bump.
"It was a head knock."
Clarkson said there were two reasons for rules changes - the look of the game and player safety.
He said the introduction of the centre circle to reduce PCL injuries among ruckmen and the sliding rule to cut down lower-leg injuries were two good examples.
"Let's have a good debate about it,"' he said.
Clarkson also wonders whether congestion around the ball might have contributed to the Burton-Higgins incident.
Higgins had the rare luxury of being in the clear and Clarkson suspects the North star might have thought there was no-one around him, but Burton was closing fast and blindsided him.
"If we can fix up some of those things around congestion, then these sorts of incidents will become less frequent, which will be a good thing for the game," Clarkson said.
Australian Associated Press
