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. 

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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. 

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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.