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Patrick Dangerfield on shorter quarters take, Smith’s early impact and Rowell to Cats links
SEN • January 31st, 2025 11:59 am
Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield has weighed in on a raft of AFL topics and news surrounding his club.
Dangerfield, who is also the AFLPA President, caused a stir on social media this week when he suggested that it’s time to reduce the length of quarters.
He spoke about that opinion and how he’d go about changing the length of games, while also commenting on recruit Bailey Smith, the Cats’ links to Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell and other topics on SEN Breakfast with Kane Cornes and David King.
Check out his responses below.
On calling for quarter lengths to be reduced
“It's off the back of, obviously the NBA and the challenges that that they've had, and the increase the NFL's had in their traffic. Whether that's the Taylor Swift effect or it's just the quality of their game,” Dangerfield told SEN Breakfast.
“But I think it's reasonable to suggest at some stage that it's something that we could consider as a code to make the game more accessible because there are flow-on effects of reducing game less where you could have better quality slots, more primetime games, less changeover between games.
“We're talking more five-day breaks. You might even throw a four-day break in depending on where you get to with game length.
“That's absolutely my opinion. I think it would help alleviate and fix some of the problems we have around scheduling.”
On how he’d reduce quarter lengths
“If I was handed the keys, I think COVID taught us that 16.5 minutes, that’s just too short, it didn't feel like you could really get the flow on in a game.
“But I think the time-on question's a relevant one, whether there's an ability to reduce time-on rather than seeing quarters heading to the early 30-minute mark. I think it makes sense if they're around the 20 to 28.
“I think you could pull back almost 15-20 minutes of the game, which in the scheme of professional sport and high-performance sport, it’s a big toll that I think could make a material difference.”
On the inclusion of Bailey Smith and how he’s looked in his first Cats pre-season
“He looks good, I think he's enjoying his footy.
“The personality that he is, quite clearly, you can see how missing 12 months of footy would have been significantly challenging for him.
“He's got a huge amount of energy, and I think our Cats fans are going to enjoy watching him play.
“I like the way he plays because he's high energy, he likes to move the ball fast, he's got beautiful feet in traffic, and whilst we might need to be a little bit patient early on because he's returning from an ACL, we’re pretty excited with what he’s going to bring.”
On the reports of Geelong meeting with and showing interest in Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell
“I had him on the phone, we were chatting about the quality of grass that we got at Kardinia Park (laughs).
“But, I mean, everyone would have a crack at him as I'm sure teams were having a crack at Max Holmes or any good player that’s out of contract.
“There are no guarantees in the draft, and that's why free agency makes sense.”
On the sub rule
“Look, I'd probably scrap it, to be honest, and just have five on the bench.”
On whether players have too much time off
“I've been fortunate enough to play for a long time.
“I played when Kane was playing, and it's fine for a footy head like Kane, but for those that want to remove themselves from it, the mental toll that the game takes on players now I think is greater than ever before.
“Social media is responsible for that, and there are benefits that we get as players from it. But there are the negatives of always being reachable.
“I think it's one of the longest pre-seasons in professional sport anyway, and I don't think it needs to get any longer.”
