Shorter quarters are increasingly likely to become part of the AFL landscape when Tasmania joins the competition in 2028, as league officials work out how to accommodate an expanded fixture without adding further strain to players.
AFL Commission chairman Craig Drummond has confirmed that reducing match duration is being considered alongside major changes to the competition structure. He said the players and the AFL Players’ Association were close to reaching their limit on the number of minutes played each week.
“If we want to have more games, we probably need a shorter game,” Drummond said. “Most football people would say, players certainly, and the PA would say we’re probably just about maxed out on the number of minutes that players are playing.” ([afl.com.au](https://www.afl.com.au/news/1606913/meaningful-change-expected-for-afl-fixture-with-tasmanias-entrance/))
The arrival of the Tasmania Devils will create a 19-team competition, making the current 23-round home-and-away format impossible to retain. Drummond said the AFL would need to settle on either 22 or 24 matches per club, with discussions already taking place with the clubs and players’ union. ([afl.com.au](https://www.afl.com.au/news/1515689/new-afl-boss-craig-drummond-on-tassie-entry-date-the-20th-team-and-international-expansion))
“It is likely we’ll see — and we are talking to the clubs — some meaningful change in our scheduling in 2028,” Drummond said.
Shorter AFL quarters form part of wider fixture debate
The AFL has presented clubs with four possible models for the post-Tasmania era. They include a 22-game home-and-away season, a 24-game season with two neutral rounds, and two more radical options involving a shorter home-and-away campaign followed by either a group stage or a three-week mid-season tournament. ([afl.com.au](https://www.afl.com.au/news/1546675/a-three-week-mid-season-tournament-one-of-four-fixture-shake-ups-on-the-agenda-at-afl-ceo-conference))
A 24-game season would allow clubs to retain 11 home and 11 away fixtures, while adding a second neutral round alongside Gather Round. The 22-game model would remove Gather Round or require the AFL to buy back home fixtures from clubs.
The league has spent several years trying to reduce the amount of time matches take, including efforts to eliminate delays and other periods of what football operations officials have described as “dead time”. However, matches can still run beyond two hours, and the prospect of another fixture being added has intensified the debate over game length.
Quarters were reduced during the COVID-affected 2020 season before the traditional 20-minute periods, plus time-on, returned the following year. Any permanent change would therefore represent a significant departure from the modern AFL format.
Football analyst Mitch Cleary said the introduction of quarters lasting less than 20 minutes, plus time-on, now appeared inevitable once Tasmania entered the competition.
Tasmania was awarded the AFL’s 19th licence in 2023, with the men’s team expected to make its debut in the 2028 premiership season. The AFL has since confirmed that Hawthorn will stop playing home matches in Tasmania from 2028, allowing the Devils to become the state’s primary team. ([afl.com.au](https://www.afl.com.au/news/917878/))
