Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has given an insight into the meeting between AFL bosses and coaches where the potential for a concussion substitute was raised.
Reports emerged regarding the meeting where coaches had asked for a 23rd player to be allowed to play in the event a teammate is ruled out of a game through concussion.
While Clarkson said that the proposed rule had "nearly unanimous" support from the league's coaches, he said one condition should be placed on it.
"It wont be allowed to be over 21, which was a suggestion that the coaches put forward so that you can basically just blood a young player," he told SEN Breakfast.
"Otherwise … as coaches you're going to try and exploit anything possible and the spirit of it is to protect the players and beyond the spirit of just making sure your players are protected, it also steers itself towards blooding youth for our game.
"Luke Breust played his first 15 games as a sub, so did Brad Hill, it's just a great way to integrate these young kids into footy where they don't have to play a full game.
"There's lot of benefits for it, we'll just have to wait and see whether the AFL (brings it in), it's pretty hasty doing it in the 10 days prior to the season.
"I think the AFL welcomed the idea and are going to explore it, it's just whether it's too quick to do prior to Round 1."
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