Kennett half-time spray

Hawks president takes aim at shorter break

Australian football

HAWTHORN president Jeff Kennett has slammed the AFL for treating fans with contempt over its idea to shorten the length of the half time break from next season.

News Corp reported this week the league is poised to reduce the main break from 20 minutes to 15 minutes after strong initial support from clubs and coaches.

But Kennett has called out the AFL, declaring club boards had not been consulted about the proposed change. In a scathing letter to Hawthorn members, Kennett accused the league of putting broadcast needs over fans.

“This, to me, suggests again that the AFL is out of touch with the most important element of the game — those supporters who attend games week after week in their hundreds of thousands — their customers,” Kennett wrote in the letter posted on the club’s website.

“By cutting the half-time break to 10 minutes, one can only imagine the rush and confusion as the demand for the toilets, becomes impossible.

“To purchase a drink or any of the other foods on sale, which children see as part of the experience is already a tight fit given the demand.

“A 10-minute break will make this near impossible to achieve unless, again, they miss some of the game for which they have paid to see.

“Can anyone remember any member crying out to change the length of the half time break, let alone a ground swell of demand for change. No.

“Something which is not broken, on which there was no consultation with the clubs, is being changed because of the demands of one ingredient in the AFL mix, the broadcasters. The public, the customers, again being treated with contempt.”

The AFL had initially considered slashing the break from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. The idea has received strong backlash from fans, with over 85 per cent opposing it in a recent News Corp online poll.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson is among the coaches who would support the reduction of the break but only if the welfare of the players was not impacted.

Players including Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury have given the idea the tick of approval.