when does it end?

[boston footy fan]

we just watched the incredible Sydney-Geelong game on the weekly wrapup show here in Boston....and I'm guessing Cats fans may be wondering what I'm wondering....if the first three quarters last only 20 minutes, why is the 4th term open-ended?....a conspiracy theorist might say the officials waited for the Swans to get the go-ahead goal before blowing the siren....how do they determine when a game is over?

 

[Benno_900]

Are you talking about the count up clock in the last quarter?

If you are, channel 10 put that on for the last 5 minutes to add "suspense" to the game and they have timekeepers who continue the count down clock and they sound the siren when the game ends. Pretty stupid really. Been some controversy coming out of that.

 

[boston footy fan]

those TV bastards....so is the 4th quarter always 30 minutes, or do they just add stoppage time like they do in soccer?

 

[leni]

those TV bastards....so is the 4th quarter always 30 minutes, or do they just add stoppage time like they do in soccer?

Depends. Normally it's around 26-30 mins long, can go on for a tad longer.

In the West Coast vs Sydney final a few weeks back the last qtr went for 35 minutes!!!! That is way too long.

 

[Benno_900]

Longest quarter this year was the saints-demons third qtr which went for 38 minutes largely because of the amount of goals kicked in that quarter. So it depends how much time is wasted from throw-ins, brigning the ball back from goals and behinds, player going off injured, etc.

BTW, when you go to a footy match, thats how the time is displayed on the scoreboard so you won't know when the siren is going to sound.

 

[boston footy fan]

so each quarter is SCHEDULED for 20 minutes?

 

[deestroyerz]

yep. but clock is stopped for at least 5 minutes every quarter.

 

[mcdav]

20 minutes of the ball being in play.... the clock is stopped when the ball goes out of bounds, a goal is scored or simply when the umpire calls time on. when the ump calls time on, the countdown clock is stopped, but obviously the continuous clock counts upwards

most quarters go between 28 and 31 minutes - but still it is only 20 minutes of the ball physically being in play

hope it helps

 

[Centimetre Perfect]

Yeah, I had wondered what was up with this for YEARS, and finally had it expained to me by an Aussie recently. NO ONE at the stadium (besides the official timekeeper) sees the countdown clock, which counts down from 20:00, and is stopped for out of bounds, goals, etc. The clock on the scoreboards at the grounds count running time UP from zero, but are not the official clock -- they just tell how much time has elapsed, and as a player, coach, or fan, you have to "guesstimate" how much stoppages there have been, to determine how long the quarter will go. At some point, they added the countdown clock to the TV broadcasts, but apparently, it's not tied to the "official" one (the timekeeper's), because I've sometimes noticed the siren blow 3-4 seconds or so after reaching 0:00 (or vice-versa). I assume it's just someone in the production truck stopping and starting the clock graphic when they judge that they're supposed to, so it may not be EXACTLY right to the second.

But yeah, that gets REALLY screwy when they switch to the count "up" clock at the "five minute warning". It's the networks trying to bring into the homes the suspense from the grounds of not knowing exactly when the siren will go. A bit stupid, really, if you ask me (and yes, I know no one did... ). I mean c'mon -- we've got the technology now -- put up a damn countdown clock run by the official timekeeper on the scoreboard already, so EVERYBODY knows how much time is left. It can be just as suspenseful that way, too -- "There's only ten seconds left! Can they get a shot at goal in time?", etc.

So -- Countdown clock: only seen by the timekeeper -- the one on TV is unofficial and possibly a few seconds off one way or the other. Count "up" clock: just purely the elapsed running time, the only one visible to anyone at the grounds, nothing to do with when the siren goes.

That's the way I understand it, anyway. If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will correct me...

 

[guzroo]

each quarter goes for 20 minutes but when ever the ball goes out of bounds or a goal is kicked the clock stops. many of the clocks that are on tv do not stop they keep going that is why the quarter may go for 30 minutes. so theoretically a player could be running around for 30minutes but it would only be 20minutes of actual game time.

 

[deestroyerz]

channel nines countdown clock is pretty damn accurate. the msot i have ever seen it off is about 3 seconds

 

[bresker]

Channel 9's clock is tied to the scorekeepers, Channel 10s isn't.

I prefer the channel 10 way. Look at the excitement of the Sydney-Geelong game, you didn't know when the siren was going to sound.

 

[Shell]

No way I'd rather know how much time is left. Take it from a die-hard Cat fan, I was truly suffering thru that Sydney match.

And that question about the time... no idea.. Sometime they let the clock run, it seems sometimes they dont.. freakin sucks ass if you ask me. There was hardly ANY goals scored in that last quarter, yet it went what 31,32 mins????? My prayers were not answered by the time keeper gods unfortunately...

 

[swifty69]

those TV bastards....so is the 4th quarter always 30 minutes, or do they just add stoppage time like they do in soccer?

all quarters are 20 mins + time on

 

[Kangas_Scotty29]

Time on is about 5. minutes

 

[boston footy fan]

in American football, they used to keep the time on the field, and the scoreboard clock was unofficial, just like now in Aussie rules....but they changed that here for television back in the early 70's, and in my opinion it's much better to KNOW how much time you've got left rather than having to GUESS at it.

 

[Shell]

Def like to know the time when im watching it on TV (dam you Channel 10.. we have a station here that counts the clock UP in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter.. bloody stupid!).. but I wouldnt like to know when im actually AT the game!