A yellow Sherrin was used for the first time in a game for premiership points in the early 1980s.

Now, they're everywhere!

Used in 70 per cent of games so far in 2015, the yellow pill has been held in the air to start 119 of the 170 games played to date this year.

The subtle shift accelerated when the AFL introduced a rule in 2012 directing the iconic red Sherrin be used for games that began before 3pm, and the yellow Sherrin for those that started after that time.

It was a sensible rule, introduced to clear confusion for clubs wondering which coloured balls to provide on game day when their matches started in the middle of the afternoon.

But it's gone further still, with yellow balls used for any game played under a closed roof at Etihad Stadium, regardless of starting time.

The yellow ball is becoming the dominant choice in footy these days. Picture: AFL Media

That means the red Sherrin has bounced around Etihad just once in 2015, when Essendon played the Brisbane Lions with the roof open in round eight.

In the 45 other games played at Etihad in 2015, a yellow Sherrin, which the company first made in 1971 purely for use in night games, has been held aloft at siren time.

The yellow ball has advantages. AFL.com.au understands those doing score reviews find the yellow ball easier to see than the red footy.

That suits one player contacted by AFL.com.au who gave his honest opinion with a straight face: "I prefer red, yellow balls are more slippery, I think."

The Swans have only kicked a red pill twice in games this season and lost both times to West Coast and the Western Bulldogs, although they may get one this week at Spotless Stadium against Greater Western Sydney.

The yellow ball now used for most of games each year has never been seen on Grand Final day.

On that day, tradition prevails and we pull the red Sherrin out of the bag.

If the Grand Final is ever moved from its current timeslot to become a twilight game, a prospect AFL CEO Gillon MacLachlan left open during the week, one thing that would need to change as well is the colour of the footy.

Would that mean the red was dead?

Surely the red footy would be in danger of losing its title as the game's premier pill.

No-one wants to see that, and there is certainly no plan in place from the AFL or Sherrin to go down that track.

But as time goes on the yellow ball is making a claim for ascendancy, even though it's hard to find too many people who have even noticed.

Number of games with red ball so far in 2015 by club:

10 Melbourne

9 Greater Western Sydney

7 Adelaide

6 Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast, Fremantle, St Kilda

5 Carlton, Geelong, Port Adelaide, Richmond, West Coast

4 Collingwood, Essendon, Hawthorn, North Melbourne, Western Bulldogs

2 Sydney Swans