Quantifying the physical demands in Australian football to develop training guidelines that minimise injury through adequate preparation

Abstract

This study used time-motion analysis to determine the positional demands of Australian football at the non-elite level of participation. One team from the highest-level community Australian football competition was chosen at random to take part in this study. The team was videotaped during their pre-season training, and three times throughout the 2001 sporting season, to determine the physical demands placed on participants in Australian football at the community level of participation. The results of the Oneway ANOVA indicated significant differences between the number of jogs (F6,14 3.98, p value=0.02), stands (F6,14 2.88, p value=0.04) and utility movements (F6,14 16.42, p value=0.00) performed. There was also a significant difference between the time spent by positional groups in utility movements (F6,14 61.28, p value=0.00) and between the number of activities performed by the positional groups. The ruck was involved in significantly more bounce downs (F6,14 65.81, p value = 0.00) and throw-ins (F6,14 11.48, p value = 0.000 ) than any other positional group. The ruck and rover were both involved in significantly more ground ball contests (F6,14 3.34, p value = 0.02) than any other positional group. There were significant differences between the number of tackles performed (F6,14 5.66, p value = 0.00). The results provide the necessary information to develop training regimes that mirror the game demands of each position in Australian football. These specialised regimes will have the potential to maximise player performance through customised training regimes and minimise injury through adequate preparation.