'Get him off': AFL legend stunned as Hawks star left on field for four minutes after brutal collision

North Melbourne champion David King believes that the AFL's ARC system or Hawthorn's doctors should have intervened quicker to get Nick Watson off the field, after a huge collision late in the second quarter of the club's win over Adelaide on Thursday night.

Backing back with the flight, the small forward collided with Adelaide defender Jordon Butts, knocking him squarely onto his back.

Watson looked sore as he got up, but played on and even got involved in a play a minute down the line.

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After four minutes, he was eventually pulled from the ground by Hawthorn's doctors and sat out the rest of the first half, before passing his HIA and returning when the game resumed.

Despite being cleared, King's concern is the delay in getting Watson off for the assessment and the risk of the 21-year-old copping a second big hit during that window.

"I'm not saying he was concussed, but at the time of the incident, no one knows," King told SEN on Friday.

"So get him off and assess him properly whether it's downstairs or on the bench.

"If he's fine, it's going to cost you a couple of minutes, but aren't we better off taking that couple of minutes to save billions of dollars (in concussion lawsuits).

"It was four minutes of real time (before he came off).

"When he did that weave through three or four players on the wing, what if he was nailed again, and then we bring him off and then he is concussed? Then he is ruled out for the game and we've left him out there for a second hit?

"This is what I'm trying to avoid. When he did that weave through, Wayne Milera with one more step in him could have absolutely creamed him.

"This is what I'm hot on. We take risks in spots we don't need to take risks."

Speaking after the game, Watson said he was initially unhappy with being pulled from the ground for the assessment.

"I just had to go for it. Sam Mitchell is really big on being tough and I just had to go for it and lucky I got back on my feet," he told Channel Seven.

"I had to go off and get tested which I was filthy with because I was feeling it so I got angry at him in the moment."

Adelaide are resigned to being without Izak Rankine for a period of time after the gun midfielder limped off with a calf injury in the second half of the loss.

The Crows will all but certainly be without arguably their best player for a crunch post-bye clash with Geelong at Adelaide Oval after Rankine hobbled off during the third quarter in Launceston.

Hawks coach Sam Mitchell said the win capped an "emotional" 24 hours for the club, after the AFL ended Hawthorn's partnership with Tasmania because of the looming entry of the Devils.

Rankine got a massage and did some run-throughs in an attempt to return against Hawthorn but was ultimately ruled out, leaving Adelaide without one of the most damaging game-breakers in the competition as the match went down to the wire.

He pulled up abruptly as he hovered at a stoppage midway through the third term.

Crows coach Matthew Nicks conceded he would miss some game time.

"The fact that he wasn't able to come back out means there'll be something there on a scan, and we'll just have to have a look at that," Nicks said in his post-game press conference.

"We go into a longer break now, a bye, so [that] takes a week off, but hopefully it's not major."

After having a bye and taking on Geelong, Adelaide will play the Western Bulldogs, face Melbourne and then square off with Port Adelaide in the next instalment of the Showdown.

Adelaide's Callum Ah Chee (thumb) and James Peatling (face/head) also suffered injuries on Thursday night.

Hawthorn are temporarily third on the ladder after their 10.15 (75) to 9.12 (66) win, while Adelaide remain in eighth.

Mitchell had heartfelt words for Hawthorn's Tasmanian fans in his post-match press conference.

"It's been a bit emotional the last 24 hours," Mitchell said.

"You see so many of the local people that we run into all the time and how disappointed they are about the decision. I know that's not in our hands, but what we all can do is make the most of the next seven opportunities ... and give people a send-off in the right way."

Hawthorn have had a partnership with Tasmania for 25 years, which has seen them regularly play games in the state and build a Tasmanian membership base, but they've got to move out with the Devils preparing to enter the AFL in 2028.

"I just hope that the Devils when they decide to bring some footy up here that they do it as well as we have. I'm really proud of what Hawthorn's done," Mitchell added.

"Seeing all the people over the last 24 hours has been quite difficult but rewarding, because you know how much you mean to the people here.

"So I'm glad we could get the win for them tonight."