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AFL increases length of quarter breaks at all games
Sam Edmund • March 10th, 2026 11:30 am
The AFL has increased its quarter breaks at all games.
The league this morning wrote to its broadcast partners to inform them that the quarter and three-quarter time intervals would be increased from six minutes to six and a half minutes.
The six and a half minute break had previously only applied to prime-time games on a Thursday and Friday night. It was also implemented for finals.
But from Round 1 onwards, it will now be instituted in all matches.
Curiously, the 30-second increase in quarter breaks comes as the AFL make reducing total match times a priority.
Sixteen of the 20 quarters played in Opening Round went beyond 30 minutes, with the goal-laden third quarter between Sydney and Carlton lasting more than 40 minutes and the opening GWS-Hawthorn quarter running for more than 37 minutes.
