Leigh Matthews drew on his own darkest day to say Barry Hall's AFL king-hit on Brent Staker will weigh down the Swans enforcer for the rest of his life.

Matthews intimated that Hall's brain explosion was Australian football's worst act of ill-discipline since he broke the jaw of Geelong rover Neville Bruns in 1985.

"I tell you what, Brent Staker's jaw will feel better in a week, Barry Hall's heart will be heavy for the rest of his life," said the four-time AFL premiership coach and player of the 20th century.

"I still live with the guilt."

With talk of red-cards being introduced into the AFL for such acts of thuggery, Matthews said Hall's punch on West Coast defender Staker deserved a send-off.

"Saturday was probably logical, an opposition player was put out of the game so it was logical to say the person who did that should be put out of the game as well," he told Brisbane's annual Three Codes football function in Brisbane.

"In the last 20 years of football that's the only other incident since mine probably in 1985 where you could have argued that was necessary."

Although Hall has gained no sympathy for his seven-week suspension, Matthews empathised with the power forward.

"I was involved with that kind of thing and all of a sudden you do something and you think `oh shit'," he said.

"It was 23 years ago but I can visualise the five seconds because this particular opponent had been sniping a few of our blokes early in the game.

"It was an ugly game and when the game turned ugly, I turned the ugliest.

"He kind of walked past and I walked up belted him one and I thought `Oh shit, what did I do that for?'. And then I thought `they'll be coming' and they were coming.

"Because then I lost consciousness because my nose got smashed across my face and so then I was out of the game too.

"It all happened in the spur of the moment but it doesn't go away."

Matthews was not reported at the time of the Bruns incident because there were no video review facilities.

But he was deregistered as a player for four weeks following a league investigation.

Matthews also pleaded guilty to an assault charge and was fined $1,000, although that was later downgraded to a 12-month good behaviour bond.

While Hall's strike prompted calls for the introduction of a send-off rule, including from West Coast coach John Worsfold, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said the league was unlikely to change its rules.

"I don't think we would look at it any more differently today because of the Barry Hall incident," Demetriou said.

"We've looked at it on previous occasions and I don't think you change rules based on one incident."

Demetriou said he was satisfied with the tribunal's finding, and noted that Hall's punch had drawn widespread condemnation.

Worsfold said today he was also happy with the suspension, which rules Hall out until the round 12 clash with St Kilda.

Worsfold was also confident that Staker would be able to return to his best.

"He has got to train tonight and see how feels," he said.

"Anyone who has had a concussion goes through a fairly rigorous process of being declared able to play, so he will go through that.

"I would be tipping his jaw is a bit tender, and yes he has had a couple of minor headaches he woke up with - which is to be expected.

"I am not sure what is expected of him medically, they might still be holding him back tonight."

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