Interesting discussion about the length of the game on the Hun

The AFL Players’ Association says it is keen to discuss the “obvious benefit” of shortening the length of quarters in games to help prolong players’ careers.

Geelong superstar and Players’ Association president Patrick Dangerfield has again thrown his support behind a proposal to cut the length of matches, adamant four 25-minute quarters is enough.

The concept has received strong support across the industry in recent years with AFL legend Leigh Matthews adamant a shorter game would be “much, much better” for players and younger fans.

And the powerful Players’ Association is prepared to take the issue further with the league.

PA player and stakeholder relations manager Brett Murphy said there would be advantages of shortening games given the huge physical demands currently on players.

“The length of the game has been a talking point with players for the past few seasons,” Murphy told the Herald Sun.

“Whilst there is no current proposal from the AFL on what this would look like, we welcome the opportunity to discuss it given the obvious benefit to player health and career longevity.”

The AFL yesterday confirmed it had no plans to reduce game length for next season.

But the half time interval is set to be cut from 20 minutes to 15 minutes following final talks with clubs and broadcasters.

The league believes a 15-minute halftime interval is sufficient for the players who take about three minutes to exit and re-enter the playing surface at the main change.

The average length of quarters increased by 11 seconds to 30 minutes and 35 seconds per game last season, according to Champion Data.

That increase was despite a raft of rule changes to help minimise repeat stoppages and congestion which has plagued the game and reduced scoring in recent years.