IF EVER a player was going to be ordered off for a reportable offence in the AFL, it was Tom Bugg for punching Callum Mills.

Mills spent four minutes and 36 seconds on the field before the blow ruled out him out of the rest of the game with concussion.

But AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has rejected, in the immediate term at least, introducing the send-off rule into the AFL.

He respects the debate, particularly when the calls come from respected football observers such as Gerard Healy, Chris Judd and Leigh Matthews, but he believes the game remains better off without it. 

"The issue is where you get to the margin, I think, and that's the challenge. There are the odd examples where it will be clear-cut but there are a lot of examples I think where you raise issues," McLachlan said on Thursday.

History suggests clear-cut incidents are rare, but those with grey areas are much more common. 

Of the 10 players suspended for four weeks or more in the past five years, only one incident is as clear-cut as the Bugg incident.

That was when Ty Vickery struck West Coast's Dean Cox in a ruck contest in 2014, ending Cox's night and earning a four-week suspension. 

But when you move beyond those two incidents the situation becomes murkier. 

Does Bachar Houli get sent off for throwing back an arm that caught Carlton's Jed Lamb flush on the head and knocked him out cold? 

Should Steven May have been sent off for his bump on Stefan Martin in round four last season? 

If you hesitate, then you can see the problems red cards might create.

There have also been several contentious incidents in the past five years that have not earned four weeks on the sidelines but were either similar in nature as Bugg's action or led to an opposition player being sidelined for the rest of the game. 

Most fans would recall Jordan Lewis hitting Carlton's Patrick Cripps this season. 

What about when Carlton's Chris Yarran struck Essendon's Paul Chapman in 2015 and received a three-week suspension?

Both victims played out the game.

But should the act be the only consideration as to whether to send off a player as it is in community based football? 

Perhaps it should, as sin-binning the perpetrator would affect their team and supporters immediately and therefore deter such actions. 

However I would argue a stiff penalty at the Tribunal does that anyway. 

What might have been the outcry when Bryce Gibbs was suspended for two weeks in round 12, 2015 after laying a tackle on Port Adelaide's Robbie Gray that was later deemed dangerous but earned a two-week suspension? 

Gray missed the rest of the game. 

What if that happened in a final? Deciding whether to send off a player is not a clearcut decision for an umpire or an official in the bunker.

It's not hard to see how the debate could quickly run out of control.

Post-Bugg the debate is worth having but it can't be a decision considered on a whim.

Right now the system works 95 per cent of the time.

That percentage would be in jeopardy with a change. 

Incidents since 2013 incurring at least four weeks suspension 

2017

4 weeks R14: Bachar Houli striking Jed Lamb in first quarter (Lamb played 5.13 minutes)

2016

6 weeks R9: Tom Jonas striking Andrew Gaff in third quarter (Gaff played 65.41 minutes)

5 weeks R4: Steven May rough conduct on Stefan Martin in second quarter (Martin played 51.4 minutes)

4 weeks pre-season: Jeremy Cameron rough conduct on Rhys Mathieson (Mathieson fractured his jaw) 

2015

4 weeks R20: Alex Silvagni striking Jamie Cripps behind play (Cripps played on but was sore and had X-rays for possible fractured jaw. He played the following week)

4 weeks R22: Courtenay Dempsey dangerous tackle on Brett Deledio (Deledio played out game) 

2014

4 weeks R16: Brian Lake has a choke hold on Drew Petrie (Petrie played 112.31 minutes)

4 weeks R18: Ty Vickery striking Dean Cox in the second quarter (Cox played 46.15 minutes) 

2013

4 weeks R20: Campbell Brown unnecessary face conduct on James Strauss (Strauss played 114.35 minutes)