THE SAMPLE size is in.

It's a small set of numbers, but the AFL's new set of rules were shown to have the desired effect across Opening Round.

The League was on a crusade against 'dead time' in games last year and data showed it to be successful across the first five games of the season in comparison to 2025.

Match length was 2:04 minutes above last year's average (two hours, six minutes and 48 seconds), however 2:41 minutes of additional time was due to the extra goals kicked. 

Sydney and Carlton's third quarter saw 16 goals kicked in that term alone, blowing out the length of the quarter to 40:53 minutes, but the other three quarters of that game were under the average quarter length from last year. 

Scoring across Opening Round was up four goals a match compared to last year, although generally scoring his higher at the start of seasons due to weather impacts on the season further into the year.

Ball ups and throw-ins around the ground were quicker on the back of ruck nominations, and kick-ins were 1.5 seconds quicker on average each, leading to the dead time within games to be reduced. 

The League's last disposal rule, new centre ball-up contest and stronger enforcement of standing in the protected area were all introduced last week, with ruck nominations and kick-in times also coming with amendments to slash the game time in matches.