Editing Australian rules football (section)

===Match duration===
A game lasts for 80 minutes, split into four-quarters consisting of 20 minutes playing time, with the clock being stopped for stoppages in play such as scores, or at the [[Umpire (Australian rules football)|umpire]]'s discretion, e.g. for serious injury.<ref name="Timing">{{cite web |title=Pre-Match Provisions – Match Timing |url=https://resources.afl.com.au/afl/document/2022/03/28/6d92ed7c-efc2-44dc-86bc-9fa1d9b338ad/2022-Laws-of-the-Game-Booklet.pdf#page=31 |website=AFL |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=3 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303143302/https://resources.afl.com.au/afl/document/2022/03/28/6d92ed7c-efc2-44dc-86bc-9fa1d9b338ad/2022-Laws-of-the-Game-Booklet.pdf#page=31 |url-status=live }}</ref> Leagues may choose to employ shorter quarters of play at their discretion, such as the AFLW using 17 minutes per quarter.<ref>{{cite web |title=AFLW Rules |url=https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/about-AFLW/rules |website=afl.com.au/aflw |access-date=3 March 2024 |language=en |archive-date=3 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303143302/https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/about-AFLW/rules |url-status=live }}</ref>

For any given match, two timekeepers are appointed to officiate the duration. The timekeepers record all relevant statistics for the match, such as total quarter duration and score by each team. Additionally timekeepers are required to sound a siren prior to and at the conclusion of each quarter until such time they are acknowledged by the field umpires. To stop and recommence the clock, the field umpires are required to signal to the timekeepers to indicate when the clock should be stopped or restarted.<ref name="Timing" />

Between each quarter, a break is observed to allow players a rest period. Two six-minute breaks are observed between the first and second quarters, and the third and fourth quarters. A longer 20-minute break is observed between the second and third quarter, commonly known as ''half-time''.<ref name="Timing" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Time to cut half-time breaks? AFL makes the call |url=https://www.afl.com.au/news/368722/time-to-cut-half-time-breaks-afl-makes-the-call |website=afl.com.au |access-date=3 March 2024 |language=en |date=1 February 2020 |archive-date=3 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303143308/https://www.afl.com.au/news/368722/time-to-cut-half-time-breaks-afl-makes-the-call |url-status=live }}</ref>