AFL may cut quarters to 17.5mins plus time-on Mark Stevens
Herald Sun
July 30, 2010 THE length of AFL games could be cut next season amid fears they are stretching too long for fans, players and broadcasters.
AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson yesterday confirmed ballooning match time had become a major talking point at league headquarters.
It will be discussed at the Laws of the Game Committee, along with the contentious issue of exploding interchange numbers.
Several options will be explored, including reducing playing time or changing the management of time-on, which has become so pedantic some quarters are blowing out beyond 35 minutes.
"We have asked the clubs about the issue and we will be getting the view of fans as well, asking if the game is too long," Anderson said.
"The time of games has crept out. It's one of the key issues we're looking at."
Cutting quarters from 20 minutes plus time-on to 17.5 minutes plus time-on is one scenario that has been put to clubs in visits by AFL game analyst Andrew McKay.
"That is something we have looked at in the NAB Cup," Anderson said.
The league, with the support of the Laws of the Game Committee, could also shorten matches by allowing the clock to keep running at boundary throw-ins.
Boundary throw-in numbers have soared, and with time-on being called on each occasion, games are getting longer.
Asked if the review of game time was linked to curbing injuries, Anderson said: "Everything is entwined ... the length of the game and interchange are relevant factors."
Anderson said the views of broadcasters, looking for tighter packages, was "relevant" as the league starts eyeing the clock.
But Anderson emphasised the No.1 factor was the supporters in the stands.
"The real driver of this is the fans," Anderson said.
Other sports are looking at shortened formats to keep fans interested, with cricket's most popular format now Twenty20.
The average AFL game time this season is 122 1/2 minutes after being as high as 124 earlier in the season.
That is up more than five minutes on the 2006 average of 117.2.
If home-and-away games switched to the NAB Cup model of 17 1/2 minutes plus time-on, the average game time would drop dramatically.
The average length of games in this year's NAB Cup was 107 minutes.
On average this year, there are 36 throw-ins a game - up seven from two years ago.
It is creating extra work for timekeepers and putting strain on the clock.
As the game time continues to rise, concerns about links to player fatigue continue.
St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt and West Coast's Daniel Kerr suffered severe hamstring injuries late in quarters early in the season. Kerr tore his hamstring seconds before the half-time siren.
Shorter quarters would slightly decrease the need for players, in particular hard-running midfielders, to be heavily rotated through the interchange bench.
The debate comes three months after St Kilda coach Ross Lyon first raised the issue, saying shorter games would help curb a "war of attrition".
After a hard-fought Round 4 victory against Fremantle at Etihad Stadium, Lyon floated the idea of playing halves.
"They talk about changes to the game and interchange ... maybe it's about two 45 minute halves," Lyon said.
"Being a player and a coach, you think, 'Geez, it goes a long time ... 120 minutes'.
"It's an enormous amount - and the demand on the body."
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