Longest quarter ever?

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Yeah I remember the Hawthorn-Western Bulldogs 2001 game being talked about at the time as having an epic quarter. Given the Hawks were still on a streak at the time, the game was followed fairly closely. Not surprised that it was put in print as the longest quarter up until that point in 2005.
 
Another one from my memory. I was watching a vfa game where Big Bob Johnson was playing and the quarter went on and on because the commentators were going off because the siren wasnt working. I cannot find any info on the game but i do remember the commentators going off. It would have been around 1971 or 72 when i was 6 or 7
 
The last quarter from Sydney vs Geelong, Rd 6 1993, when Osborne got knocked out and the ambo had to drive on and pick him up. I timed the quarter from siren to goal umpire signalling the last shot after the final siren and came up with 41:35.

Some others I have timed:
North Melbourne vs Richmond, Rd 5 1989, last quarter - 36:56
Brisbane vs Geelong, Rd 7 1992, last quarter - 37:28
 

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I wonder how long the last quarter of the match at Princes Park in 1984 between Carlton and Footscray went for given the massive fights that broke out in the crowd and spilled over onto the field?
The players were left sitting down on the field waiting for the fighting to stop and it kept igniting.

There was a televised VFL match involving the Tassie Devils against Coburg at Bellerive Oval in 2007 that had a quarter run for 44 minutes when Devils player Matthew Westfield ran back to take a mark, hit the left side goal post at the cricket pavilion end and the whole post came down in a screaming heap on the Coburg backman! Post had to be marched up the other end of the ground, a replacement post had to be found, marched back up and set into place.
Took 15 minutes to replace the post.
Tragicially, a year later Westfield, an ex-South Launceston player committed suicide by driving his car into the path of a Toll Tasmania B-Double truck on the Midland Highway just near Jericho, Tas. 😥

At an SFL match in Hobart in 1998, former TFL side Hobart, playing their first match since being dumped from the TFL were up against Kingston at the TCA Ground.
Final quarter went 41:55 as Kingston booted 7.15 to Hobart's 3.4 in the final quarter.
At the same ground in 1982, Hobart and North Hobart met in a final round TFL match which the loser would take the wooden spoon.
Final quarter went for 43 minutes as Hobart outscored North 6.10 to 6.8 but went down by 52 points, 13.22 (100) to 21.26 (152).
Hobart would not play another game at the ground for thirteen years!
 
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An article in the VFA Record from 1993 features a write up on the score of 110.27 (687) kicked by Williamstown vs Geelong West in the VFA Under 18s competition on July 23, 1983. The article states that timekeeper Graeme Crocker kept detailed times of all matches in which he officiated, and for this game the time on added for each quarter was 9, 15, 19 and 14 minutes respectively. Assuming the quarters for under 18s in those days were 25 minutes, this would mean the third quarter of that game lasted 44 minutes.
 
worbod said:
An article in the VFA Record from 1993 features a write up on the score of 110.27 (687) kicked by Williamstown vs Geelong West in the VFA Under 18s competition on July 23, 1983. The article states that timekeeper Graeme Crocker kept detailed times of all matches in which he officiated, and for this game the time on added for each quarter was 9, 15, 19 and 14 minutes respectively. Assuming the quarters for under 18s in those days were 25 minutes, this would mean the third quarter of that game lasted 44 minutes.
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Ressies and Seniors would've got underway late!
Seniors would've just about finished in pitch black dark lol.
 
Connor7395 said:
North Melbourne vs Richmond, Rd 5 1989, last quarter – 36:56
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That’s actually less than the figure from Football Yearbook of 38 minutes, and the quarter remains the third-highest-scoring in VFL/AFL history, although the YouTube broadcast shows a discrepancy in the goal umpires’ scorecards of one Tiger behind. In the record highest-scoring quarter – the second quarter between Fitzroy and St. Kilda at the Junction Oval in 1983 – The Herald (or was it The Sun) merely said the quarter ran longer than 35 minutes whilst 19.7 (121) was kicked. I have never read any figure for the second-highest scoring quarter – the second quarter between North Melbourne and Sydney in Round 6 of 1991 – with 18.8 (116) kicked and one of a remarkable three 110-point quarter aggregates played by the Kangaroos that season.

One could imagine that the length of a quarter is governed by scoring shots rather than actual points, and if we judge by scoring shots the record aggregate for a quarter is 29 by Hawthorn (5.13) and St. Kilda (8.3) in the second quarter of that record-breaking Round 6, 1977 match. I have read Age reports from that amazing round (Carlton and Essendon both losing by a century is remarkable in itself) but nothing is said about how long the second quarter (or the 101-point-aggregate final quarter) went for.

Overall, though, it does seem that even twenty goals in a quarter would not mean necessarily a length of over 35 minutes, which was the maximum for the old analogue timers that are so often seen in footage of 1970s and 1980s games.
 
worbod said:
An article in the VFA Record from 1993 features a write up on the score of 110.27 (687) kicked by Williamstown vs Geelong West in the VFA Under 18s competition on July 23, 1983. The article states that timekeeper Graeme Crocker kept detailed times of all matches in which he officiated, and for this game the time on added for each quarter was 9, 15, 19 and 14 minutes respectively. Assuming the quarters for under 18s in those days were 25 minutes, this would mean the third quarter of that game lasted 44 minutes.
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110 goals lol.
 
2001-2020, collected from AFL Tables:

40m 29s - 2nd - Western Bulldogs vs. Hawthorn, 2001
39m 49s - 2nd - Brisbane vs. Adelaide, 2014
38m 59s - 3rd - Brisbane vs. North Melbourne, 2017
38m 57s - 1st - Richmond vs. Sydney, 2018
38m 51s - 1st - West Coast vs. Fremantle, 2003
38m 48s - 4th - Geelong vs. Hawthorn, 2013
38m 47s - 1st - Collingwood vs. GWS, 2018
38m 46s - 3rd - Sydney vs. Essendon, 2013
38m 19s - 1st - St. Kilda vs. North Melbourne, 2018
38m 7s - 2nd - Melbourne vs. Geelong, 2018
37m 58s - 4th - Brisbane Lions vs. West Coast, 2012
37m 57s - 1st - West Coast vs. Geelong, 2012
37m 40s - 3rd - Western Bulldogs vs. Essendon, 2001
37m 34s - 4th - Port Adelaide vs. Carlton, 2019
37m 31s - 2nd - Richmond vs. Fremantle, 2011
37m 22s - 4th - Brisbane vs. Port Adelaide, 2019
37m 21s - 3rd - Brisbane vs. Sydney, 2019
37m 20s - 1st - Carlton vs. Hawthorn, 2008
37m 19s - 1st - Hawthorn vs. Carlton, 2001
37m 19s - 4th - North Melbourne vs. Port Adelaide, 2009
37m 19s - 2nd - West Coast vs. North Melbourne, 2016
37m 4s - 3rd - North Melbourne vs. Richmond, 2016
37m 0s - 3rd - Sydney vs. Brisbane, 2010
36m 57s - 4th - West Coast vs. Brisbane, 2012
36m 56s - 1st - Brisbane vs. Port Adelaide, 2009
36m 54s - 4th - Brisbane vs. Fremantle, 2001
36m 47s - 2nd - Carlton vs. Port Adelaide, 2015
36m 45s - 1st - Port Adelaide vs. Brisbane, 2019
36m 44s - 3rd - Adelaide vs. Melbourne, 2017
36m 42s - 1st - Sydney vs. Western Bulldogs, 2012
36m 27s - 1st - North Melbourne vs. St. Kilda, 2020 (originally 29m 10s but adjusted to account for 16m quarters due to COVID-19)
36m 27s - 1st - Collingwood vs. Essendon, 2011
36m 26s - 3rd - West Coast vs. Adelaide, 2017
36m 26s - 3rd - Essendon vs. West Coast, 2004
36m 24s - 3rd - Brisbane vs. Geelong, 2011
36m 22s - 1st - Richmond vs. Port Adelaide, 2007
36m 21s - 1st - Port Adelaide vs. Sydney, 2008
36m 20s - 3rd - West Coast vs. Fremantle, 2018
36m 20s - 3rd - Geelong vs. Port Adelaide, 2010
36m 19s - 4th - Port Adelaide vs. Carlton, 2008
36m 17s - 3rd - North Melbourne vs. Melbourne, 2019
36m 16s - 3rd - Hawthorn vs. Essendon, 2004
36m 14s - 4th - Brisbane vs. Western Bulldogs, 2015
36m 14s - 2nd - Port Adelaide vs. Adelaide, 2016
36m 13s - 4th - West Coast vs. Carlton, 2011 (Semi Final)
36m 10s - 1st - Sydney vs. Geelong, 2013
36m 9s - 1st - Brisbane vs. GWS, 2018
36m 7s - 3rd - North Melbourne vs. Hawthorn, 2018
36m 7s - 2nd - Collingwood vs. Geelong, 2011 (Grand Final)
36m 7s - 3rd - GWS vs. Adelaide, 2018
36m 6s - 3rd - Port Adelaide vs. Western Bulldogs, 2011
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35m 54s - 2nd - Richmond vs. Hawthorn, 2005
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35m 53s - 3rd - St. Kilda vs. Western Bulldogs, 2006
---
35m 50s - 4th - Gold Coast vs. Essendon, 2019
 
mianfei said:
That’s actually less than the figure from Football Yearbook of 38 minutes, and the quarter remains the third-highest-scoring in VFL/AFL history, although the YouTube broadcast shows a discrepancy in the goal umpires’ scorecards of one Tiger behind. In the record highest-scoring quarter – the second quarter between Fitzroy and St. Kilda at the Junction Oval in 1983 – The Herald (or was it The Sun) merely said the quarter ran longer than 35 minutes whilst 19.7 (121) was kicked. I have never read any figure for the second-highest scoring quarter – the second quarter between North Melbourne and Sydney in Round 6 of 1991 – with 18.8 (116) kicked and one of a remarkable three 110-point quarter aggregates played by the Kangaroos that season.

One could imagine that the length of a quarter is governed by scoring shots rather than actual points, and if we judge by scoring shots the record aggregate for a quarter is 29 by Hawthorn (5.13) and St. Kilda (8.3) in the second quarter of that record-breaking Round 6, 1977 match. I have read Age reports from that amazing round (Carlton and Essendon both losing by a century is remarkable in itself) but nothing is said about how long the second quarter (or the 101-point-aggregate final quarter) went for.
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I wonder what the highest aggregate score for a quarter is for the major state leagues across Australia.
I do know the record for the Tasmanian Football League is 21.7 (133) when Glenorchy booted 16.3 (99) to Hobart 5.4 (34) in the final quarter of the final roster match of the 1983 season at KGV Oval.
One would think some of the huge scoring SANFL and WAFL games of the 70s and 80s along with huge scoring VFA games would probably eclipse that.
 
Connor7395 said:
2001-2020, collected from AFL Tables:

40m 29s - 2nd - Western Bulldogs vs. Hawthorn, 2001
39m 49s - 2nd - Brisbane vs. Adelaide, 2014
38m 59s - 3rd - Brisbane vs. North Melbourne, 2017
38m 57s - 1st - Richmond vs. Sydney, 2018
38m 51s - 1st - West Coast vs. Fremantle, 2003
38m 48s - 4th - Geelong vs. Hawthorn, 2013
38m 47s - 1st - Collingwood vs. GWS, 2018
38m 46s - 3rd - Sydney vs. Essendon, 2013
38m 19s - 1st - St. Kilda vs. North Melbourne, 2018
38m 7s - 2nd - Melbourne vs. Geelong, 2018
37m 58s - 4th - Brisbane Lions vs. West Coast, 2012
37m 57s - 1st - West Coast vs. Geelong, 2012
37m 40s - 3rd - Western Bulldogs vs. Essendon, 2001
37m 34s - 4th - Port Adelaide vs. Carlton, 2019
37m 31s - 2nd - Richmond vs. Fremantle, 2011
37m 22s - 4th - Brisbane vs. Port Adelaide, 2019
37m 21s - 3rd - Brisbane vs. Sydney, 2019
37m 20s - 1st - Carlton vs. Hawthorn, 2008
37m 19s - 1st - Hawthorn vs. Carlton, 2001
37m 19s - 4th - North Melbourne vs. Port Adelaide, 2009
37m 19s - 2nd - West Coast vs. North Melbourne, 2016
37m 4s - 3rd - North Melbourne vs. Richmond, 2016
37m 0s - 3rd - Sydney vs. Brisbane, 2010
36m 57s - 4th - West Coast vs. Brisbane, 2012
36m 56s - 1st - Brisbane vs. Port Adelaide, 2009
36m 54s - 4th - Brisbane vs. Fremantle, 2001
36m 47s - 2nd - Carlton vs. Port Adelaide, 2015
36m 45s - 1st - Port Adelaide vs. Brisbane, 2019
36m 44s - 3rd - Adelaide vs. Melbourne, 2017
36m 42s - 1st - Sydney vs. Western Bulldogs, 2012
36m 27s - 1st - North Melbourne vs. St. Kilda, 2020 (originally 29m 10s but adjusted to account for 16m quarters due to COVID-19)
36m 27s - 1st - Collingwood vs. Essendon, 2011
36m 26s - 3rd - West Coast vs. Adelaide, 2017
36m 26s - 3rd - Essendon vs. West Coast, 2004
36m 24s - 3rd - Brisbane vs. Geelong, 2011
36m 22s - 1st - Richmond vs. Port Adelaide, 2007
36m 21s - 1st - Port Adelaide vs. Sydney, 2008
36m 20s - 3rd - West Coast vs. Fremantle, 2018
36m 20s - 3rd - Geelong vs. Port Adelaide, 2010
36m 19s - 4th - Port Adelaide vs. Carlton, 2008
36m 17s - 3rd - North Melbourne vs. Melbourne, 2019
36m 16s - 3rd - Hawthorn vs. Essendon, 2004
36m 14s - 4th - Brisbane vs. Western Bulldogs, 2015
36m 14s - 2nd - Port Adelaide vs. Adelaide, 2016
36m 13s - 4th - West Coast vs. Carlton, 2011 (Semi Final)
36m 10s - 1st - Sydney vs. Geelong, 2013
36m 9s - 1st - Brisbane vs. GWS, 2018
36m 7s - 3rd - North Melbourne vs. Hawthorn, 2018
36m 7s - 2nd - Collingwood vs. Geelong, 2011 (Grand Final)
36m 7s - 3rd - GWS vs. Adelaide, 2018
36m 6s - 3rd - Port Adelaide vs. Western Bulldogs, 2011
---
35m 54s - 2nd - Richmond vs. Hawthorn, 2005
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35m 53s - 3rd - St. Kilda vs. Western Bulldogs, 2006
---
35m 50s - 4th - Gold Coast vs. Essendon, 2019
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Also within this timeframe:

36m 29s - 1st - Carlton vs. Richmond, 2005
 
bloodpumpsRnB said:
There would have to be a couple where there is a big injury which takes 10 minutes for the player to get off the field.
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Yes, Richard Osborne at SCG when Ambulance came on would have taken forever.
Also 1984 some fight broke out in crowd at Carlton and Footscray game and spilled out onto the ground.
Game was stopped until police restored order. Funny, I do not recall it but probably went just about every week of 1984 season so suspect I was there and watched from up the other end. These interruptions would tend to take game to around 40 minutes you would think.
Games without interruptions going well over 35 minutes is more strange but I do recall some games in early 80's where some big scoring quarters could go just over 35 minutes but in general 30 minutes has been the average and something like 28 minutes usually a short quarter due to only around 5 goals kicked in entire quarter between both teams. If you got around 12 or more goals in a quarter between both teams, rule of thumbs type approach suggests it should go well past 30 minutes. Even more so now where they regulated games have no less than 30 seconds between goals since every games is broadcast in some form. I'm always curious to know how much actual play time is happening. Am ! getting ripped off and lose 10 minutes of football a game since I first started going or is overall it the same? and does it mean record keeping is ****ed to some extent as you comparing quarter scores and games record where fundamental change to length of game happens. Hard to know really with all the changes over last four decades. But for this coming season with much shorter quarters you have to keep them almost away from other records as lengths of games will be clearly shorter.
 
If a player is taking a kick after the siren, has the quarter already officially ended or does the time keep ticking until the goal umpire signals a score?
 

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worbod said:
If a player is taking a kick after the siren, has the quarter already officially ended or does the time keep ticking until the goal umpire signals a score?
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The time keeps ticking until the goal umpire signals. Example being Tarrant's after the siren kick in 2003.

The siren blew at 31:50. Tarrant's goal is recorded at 32:11 on AFL Tables (the umpire doesn't signal until about 32:15, and the quarter is considered over at 32:18)
 
footyfan78 said:
Am ! getting ripped off and lose 10 minutes of football a game since I first started going or is overall it the same?
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Almost certainly spectators are ripped off, because the television companies are reliant on advertising revenue and want to broadcast as many games and as many commercials as possible. The only way to broadcast more games with more commercials at the same time is to have less actual playing time per game.

The changes in 1994 (5 minutes actual play removed per quarter) cost at least 20 minutes of actual play per game and possibly more. It was necessary and successful re competing with basketball, where games have only 48 minutes (or less) actual play so that games can be televised with less program material and more commercials than pre-1994 football. Not to forget that the viewing angles of basketball were perfect for television when that sport was created (before television was invented but later than other major global sports), whereas those of pre-1994 football were exceedingly unfavourable – long wide-angle kicks and narrow-angle ground play.
Connor7395 said:
#26 — 36m 54s – 4th – Brisbane vs. Fremantle, 2001
#36 — 36m 22s – 1st – Richmond vs. Port Adelaide, 2007
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It’s interesting to see the only two century-aggregate quarters ranked so low. Still they had a lot of time-on with all the goals scored.

There were three century-aggregate quarters between 1994 and 2000, one of which – the second quarter in Round 17, 1998 between Carlton and the Western Bulldogs – was timed at over forty minutes. The other two – the third quarter between Hawthorn and Carlton in Round 4, 1994 and the second quarter between North Melbourne and West Coast in Round 1, 2000 – I have never seen timed.

The final quarter between Fremantle and Carlton in Round 13, 2007 had 24 scoring shots – the most in any quarter since 2002 – but is not listed above and was timed at only 33 minutes 26 seconds. This suggests that quarters with 25 or more scoring shots, the last of which was that 2001 Brisbane v Fremantle final quarter, would not necessarily run for over 34 minutes, and that the record second quarter between Hawthorn and St. Kilda in Round 6, 1977 might have run for no more than 35 or 36 minutes.

The following quarters with 27 scoring shots – the second-highest aggregate on record – would be interesting to time:
  • Round 9, 1980, Collingwood v Geelong – second quarter (would need to check newspapers and Inside Football)
  • Round 3, 1982, Richmond v Essendon – second quarter (game in full on YouTube so could someone time it?)
  • Round 4, 1991, Brisbane v Geelong – second quarter (game may be on YouTube or some private collection)
 
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mianfei said:
  • Round 9, 1980, Collingwood v Geelong – second quarter (would need to check newspapers and Inside Football)
  • Round 3, 1982, Richmond v Essendon – second quarter (game in full on YouTube so could someone time it?)
  • Round 4, 1991, Brisbane v Geelong – second quarter (game may be on YouTube or some private collection)
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Round 3, 1982, 2nd quarter was 32:32
The Geelong vs Brisbane game is on YouTube but there's a lot of skips that makes timing impossible.
 
Connor7395 said:
Round 3, 1982, 2nd quarter was 32:32
The Geelong vs Brisbane game is on YouTube but there's a lot of skips that makes timing impossible.
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Thanks for the information. If scoring shots are critical, it would mean that two minute would necessarily be added for only seven scoring shots, and that Round 6, 1977 second quarter could have lasted as little as 34 minutes.

I did check The Age just then for possible information on the 1980 Collingwood v Geelong game but there is no information given on how long that second quarter lasted.

It’s interesting that Collingwood are the only club from before 1991 who has never participated in a quarter with 100 or more points scored. Their record is 99 points from Round 11, 1983 in the third quarter against St. Kilda – the Saints’ highest losing score and the closest any round has come to two 100-point quarters.
 
As this page from Demonwiki shows, the final quarter between Fitzroy and Melbourne in 1979 when the Roys kicked the league's highest score ran for 31:10. There were 12 goals kicked in this quarter, although there were 14 kicked in the third quarter, which potentially may have run longer.

Round 17 1979 | Demonwiki

Demonwiki.org is the ultimate resource for Melbourne Demons fans. Explore team history, player profiles, match results, and more. Stay updated with the latest news on the Demons.
demonwiki.org demonwiki.org
 
worbod said:
As this page from Demonwiki shows, the final quarter between Fitzroy and Melbourne in 1979 when the Roys kicked the league's highest score ran for 31:10. There were 12 goals kicked in this quarter, although there were 14 kicked in the third quarter, which potentially may have run longer.

Round 17 1979 | Demonwiki

Demonwiki.org is the ultimate resource for Melbourne Demons fans. Explore team history, player profiles, match results, and more. Stay updated with the latest news on the Demons.
demonwiki.org demonwiki.org
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Would be cool to see the full footage of this match. Sadly all we have available is twenty seconds of footage taken from a couple of boundary line cameras that made it into the Sensational Seventies DVD.
In fact, can we even be sure there's a copy of the game anywhere? I doubt it was given a TV broadcast.
 
Connor7395 said:
Would be cool to see the full footage of this match. Sadly all we have available is twenty seconds of footage taken from a couple of boundary line cameras that made it into the Sensational Seventies DVD.
In fact, can we even be sure there's a copy of the game anywhere? I doubt it was given a TV broadcast.
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There's these three shots which I assume are the same as what was on Sensational Seventies.

Mick Conlan up close is a pretty menacing figure for those times. He would do well in modern football.

 
36 minutes 58 seconds for the final quarter of that amazing Round 13, 1978 match between Footscray and St. Kilda where Templeton and Dunstan kicked 22 goals between them. The long duration was not due to the Bulldogs kicking 12.4 but to crowd invasions after Templeton kicked goal after goal late in the match.
 
mianfei said:
36 minutes 58 seconds for the final quarter of that amazing Round 13, 1978 match between Footscray and St. Kilda where Templeton and Dunstan kicked 22 goals between them. The long duration was not due to the Bulldogs kicking 12.4 but to crowd invasions after Templeton kicked goal after goal late in the match.
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my two takeaways from watching this. Templeton was choking himself with his shorts! and Malboro being a sponsor! Times have changed
 
The 2nd quarter between Collingwood and Melbourne that just occurred appears to have lasted 37 mins 26 seconds (16 min quarter) which if you adjust to 20 gives 46 mins 48 secs (!). I know this isnt truly accurate due to the injury but even if there were no stoppages in the extra 4 mins it would have still been the longest quarter ever (41 min 26). 11 goals were kicked in the quarter+ an injury= this seasons longest quarter by a mile. the longest i remember this season prior was 30 min 02s but im sure there were a few slightly longer.
 
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Surely, the 4th qtr in the West Coast v Melbourne game will never be beaten? Because of the lightning, that qtr went for 59:28! I kinda wish it went for those 32 extra seconds!
 

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