Australian Football League Team Research Articles

Phases of Match-Play in Professional Australian Football: Positional Demands and Match-Related Fatigue.

This study examined the influence of player position and match quarter on activity profiles during the phases of play in Australian Football. Global positioning satellite data was collected for one season from an Australian Football League team for nomadic, key position and ruck players (age: 24.8 ± 4.2 years, body mass: 88.3 ± 8.7 kg, height: 1.88 ± 0.8 m). Separate linear mixed models and effect sizes were used to analyse differences between positions and game quarter within each phase of play for values of distance, speed and metabolic power indices. There were clear differences between positions for low-speed running, high-speed running, total distance and average speed. Nomadic players generally recorded the highest match running outputs, followed by key position players and ruckmen. Within each position, offence and defence involved the highest intensities, followed by contested play and then stoppage periods. Across the four quarters, there were small to large reductions in average speed, high-speed running, high power and energy expenditure during offence, defence and contested play, but not during stoppages. Accordingly, conditioning staff should consider the intermittent intensities of the phases of match-play for each position to optimally prepare players for competition. Reductions in match intensities were evident during active periods of play providing implications for real-time monitoring to optimise the timing of rotations.

Classifying player positions in second-tier Australian football competitions using technical skill indicators

Efficient recruitment to Australia’s most popular professional sporting competition, the Australian Football League (AFL), requires evaluators to assess athlete performances in many lower tier leagues that serve as pathways. These competitions and their games are frequent, widespread, and challenging to track. Therefore, independent, and reliable player performance statistics from these leagues are paramount. This data, however, is only meaningful to recruiters from AFL teams if accurate player positions are known, which was not the case for the competitions from which most players were recruited. This paper explains how this problem was recently solved, demonstrating a process of knowledge translation from academia to industry, that bridged an important gap between sports science, coaching and recruiting. Positional information which is only available from the AFL competition was used to benchmark and develop scientific classification methods using only predictor variables that are also measured in lower tier competitions. Specifically, a Multinomial Logistic model was constructed to allocate players into four primary positions, followed by a Binary Logit model for further refinement. This novel technique of using more complete data from top tier competitions to help fill informational deficiencies in lower leagues could be extended to other sports that face similar issues.

Can Elite Australian Football Player’s Game Performance Be Predicted?

Abstract In elite Australian football (AF) many studies have investigated individual player performance using a variety of outcomes (e.g. team selection, game running, game rating etc.), however, none have attempted to predict a player’s performance using combinations of pre-game factors. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the ability of commonly reported individual player and team characteristics to predict individual Australian Football League (AFL) player performance, as measured through the official AFL player rating (AFLPR) (Champion Data). A total of 158 variables were derived for players (n = 64) from one AFL team using data collected during the 2014-2019 AFL seasons. Various machine learning models were trained (cross-validation) on the 2014-2018 seasons, with the 2019 season used as an independent test set. Model performance, assessed using root mean square error (RMSE), varied (4.69-5.03 test set RMSE) but was generally poor when compared to a singular variable prediction (AFLPR pre-game rating: 4.72 test set RMSE). Variation in model performance (range RMSE: 0.14 excusing worst model) was low, indicating different approaches produced similar results, however, glmnet models were marginally superior (4.69 RMSE test set). This research highlights the limited utility of currently collected pre-game variables to predict week-to-week game performance more accurately than simple singular variable baseline models.

Reliability of a portable fixed frame dynamometry system used to test lower limb strength in elite Australian Football League players

ObjectivesDeficits in strength of lower limb musculature have been associated with increased injury risk in a variety of athletic populations. As medical and performance staff seek to better understand the association between hip and knee strength measures and injury risk, measurement tools with high reliability and utility are required to profile and manage athletes effectively. The purpose of this study was to investigate the test-retest reliability of a portable fixed frame dynamometry system used to assess hip and knee strength of an elite Australian Football League team. DesignCase series. MethodsMaximum voluntary isometric strength of the hip abductors, hip adductors and knee flexors of 41 elite male Australian Football League footballers (mean age=23.7±4.1 years, height=189.2±7.0cm, weight=88.6±8.4kg) were tested during preseason training. Tests were performed one week apart on the same training day of a standard preseason week. ResultsTest-retest reliability was very high for left hip adduction (ICC 0.958), right hip adduction (ICC 0.955), left hip abduction (ICC 0.957), right hip abduction (ICC 0.945), left knee flexion (ICC 0.927) and right knee flexion (ICC 0.923). Furthermore, standard errors of measurement in per cent (SEM%) ranged from 3.21 to 5.03%, and minimal detectable change (MDC) from 3.93 to 6.65kg for the different hip and thigh strength measures, making it possible to determine small changes in strength at the individual level. ConclusionsThis study demonstrated very high reliability when testing maximal voluntary isometric hip and knee strength using a portable fixed dynamometry system (KangaTech) in an elite male Australian Football League setting.

An analysis of in-game feedback provided by coaches in an Australian Football League competition

ABSTRACT Background: Coach observation studies have been a mainstay of coaching science research for decades, with a major focus on the use of instruction and feedback by coaches. However, relatively few studies have investigated feedback provided in a live competition setting, with a majority focussing on the training environment. As such, little is known about the way that feedback changes as a result of the intensity of a competitive setting. Additionally, feedback variables of interest are featured inconsistently between studies. Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the quantity and nature of feedback from coach to player in an Australian rules football context, specifically the elite-level Australian Football League (AFL) competition. An entire season's worth of coach-player feedback was recorded and coded against a wide range of feedback variables most commonly found in the literature. A secondary aim of the study was to examine changes in feedback against various game metrics (winning/losing quarter, margin). Method: Five coaches from one AFL team, all with several years of experience at the elite level, were recorded across 21 regular-season games from the 2018 season. Feedback quantity, along with several feedback variables of interest (valence, autonomy-support, descriptive/prescriptive, individual/group, etc.), were coded during each quarter of play. Game information (game outcome, quarter outcome, margin at the start of the quarter, point differential for the quarter) was also recorded. Results: Across 84 quarters of football, 1301 coach-player feedback instances were observed. Mean values across all quarters revealed more negative (20%) than positive (13%) feedback, more prescriptive (81%) than descriptive (19%) feedback, more controlling (58%) than autonomy-supportive (8%), and more individual (70%) than group (30%) feedback was provided. Task-related feedback (60%) was more common than process-related (37%), self-regulation feedback (3%) or self-level feedback i.e. praise (2%). More positive feedback was provided in winning quarters than in losing quarters, while more controlling feedback was present during losing quarters than during winning quarters. Coaches provided significantly more feedback overall when the game was in the balance than quarters where the team was 95% or more likely to win or lose. Conclusions: The paper presents novel findings about feedback use in an elite competitive team sport setting. Areas where the use of feedback does not align with current theory and evidence are highlighted, particularly regarding feedback valence and autonomy support. Feedback variables more commonly associated with improved learning and performance in the literature appear to generally be provided more frequently during winning quarters, but a causal relationship is yet to be determined.

Understanding effective tactics in Australian football using network analysis

ABSTRACTSocial network analysis (SNA) has been applied in soccer and basketball to assess how a team shares possession of the ball, which could be considered as an aspect of teamwork. The analysis of teamwork could provide the opportunity to identify tactical characteristics of team performance that are associated with winning. Ball possession data from each match in the 2009–2016 Australian Football League (AFL) seasons were analysed using SNA. Seven network measures (edge count, edge density, transitivity, average path length, degree centrality, betweenness centrality and eigenvector centrality) were derived. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were identified in the characteristics of teamwork (i.e. network measures) for each AFL team in the 2016 season. Further, the median value of all network measures was different between each AFL season (2009–2016). There were differences between teams that won and lost matches for all network measures and moderate relationships with score margin. Finally, there were weak correlations between all network measures and final ladder position. These results suggest that effective passing within a team is important and that a team should maximise the number of trios in their passing network. This work provides novel insights regarding optimal teamwork strategies in AF.

Evaluation of Concussion Incidence and Modulating Factors in the 2013-2017 Australian Football League.

IntroductionThe increasing awareness and popularization of concussions in the research realm over the last few years have begun to shed more light on the detrimental effects associated with repetitive head trauma. While the majority of the current literature focuses on the National Football League (NFL) and National Hockey League (NHL), several other high-impact sports have been implementing concussion management protocols to protect their players. The Australian Football League (AFL) is a prime example of a major contact sport that has undertaken recent changes to its concussion assessment and management modalities. We recognize the benefit of reporting potential changes in concussion rates over the 2013-2017 AFL seasons. We were interested in some of the factors not yet evaluated before, which may contribute to the overall concussion incidence such as “style-of-play” factors” (home/away, win/loss, points scored, time of season). We hope the results of this analysis shed light on the mechanisms by which concussion rates can be mitigated across major contact sports.MethodsData were obtained from the weekly injury list published by the AFL, a publicly available website. Details of players listed with concussions were collected from regular season games (890 games total) of 18 AFL teams from 2013 to 2017. Weekly injury lists were retrospectively compared using THE AGE, a publicly available newspaper published and owned by Fairfax Media. Data were analyzed utilizing GraphPad Prism 6 (GraphPad Software Inc., CA, US). In addition to descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact tests, Welch’s two-tailed t-tests, and correlation tests were used. Alpha level < 0.05 was considered significant for all tests.ResultsThe dataset comprised 236 total concussions between the 2013 and 2017 AFL seasons. We noted a significant increase in the concussion rate (p = 0.0010) between the 2013 and 2017 seasons. This result was complemented by a significant increase in average games missed between the 2014 and 2015 seasons (p = 0.0002); however, this trend was not significant when evaluating the 2013 and 2017 seasons directly (p = 0.0951). Further analysis into the "style of play" factors on concussion incidence, such as average points scored, win/loss, home/away, and time of season, produced non-significant results.ConclusionOur study identified a significant increasing trend in concussion rate and average games missed that correlate to the data analysis in other high-impact sports such as the NFL and NHL. However, further research is necessary to determine if these findings indicate the improvement in concussion management and player safety measures beginning to develop in high-impact sports. We also noted that certain “style of play” factors (points scored, win/loss, home/away, and time of season) have no significant implication on concussion rate during the 2013-2017 AFL seasons. While we consider our data source to be reliable in the reporting of concussions from the AFL, the ideal data set would comprise a medical diagnosis from the team of doctors. It may be possible that our data set is underreporting the total amount of concussions between the 2013 and 2017 AFL seasons. Return-to-play times were not ascertained directly from the team doctor for the clearance date. It may be possible that this data collection modality led to missed cases of head injury or return to play times, which could impact the reliability of our dataset.

Scoring dynamics in the Australian Football League: Analysis of the 2008–2016 seasons

Background: Scoring patterns in basketball, American football, and ice hockey leagues tend to demonstrate ‘end-spurts’ where scoring events are more likely to occur as quarter-, half-, or full-time approaches. Further investigations are warranted in the Australian Football League (AFL) due to unique aspects of the sport that could influence scoring patterns. In the AFL, the game clock fluctuates from game-to-game due to the ‘time on’ rule, and phases of play can be more free-flowing than in other team sports where play is regularly stopped for player substitutions and time-outs. The aim of this study was to examine the scoring dynamics of AFL teams using time-series analyses.

A pilot study to measure game style within Australian football

The generic term “game style” is often used to infer a way a team has performed or a playing pattern that has developed. However, this concept has not previously been measured. This study developed a generic model to measure game styles among field sports. Specifically, game styles of 6 Australian Football League (AFL) teams were assessed using 12 performance indicators, during the 2015 season. These variables were allocated to one of five “moments” of play: established offence/defence, transition to offence/defence and set pieces. A game style plot was generated using z-scores to show each team’s deviance from the sample average. Among the six AFL teams, there were many common features of game style indicating teams were trying to play in similar ways. Plots identified specific moments of relatively weaker or stronger performance, and hence areas for improvement. Correlation analysis demonstrated significant correlations between the total sum of z-scores across moments and success (premiership position ρ = −1, p = .025; and scoring percentage ρ = .943, p = .035). Game style plots are easy to interpret, can highlight areas of concern in specific play periods or phases, and help marry training drills with deficiencies in various moments.

The use of team performance indicator characteristics to explain ladder position at the conclusion of the Australian Football League home and away season

Not dissimilar to other elite team sports, the Australian Football League (AFL) implements a ‘ladder’ system to rank the performance of teams relative to their opposition. Position on this ladder is primarily operationalised by the number of wins a team accrues. This study investigated the extent to which an AFL team’s ladder position was associated with their performance indicator characteristics. Thirteen team performance indicators were collated for each AFL team (n = 18), with teams being categorised according to their ladder position (ranked one to 18) at the conclusion of the 2015, 23-round, home and away season (394 observations). A higher ranked position (closer to one) was reflective of a higher performing team. Cumulative link mixed models were fitted to the data, modelling the extent to which ladder position was associated with the team performance indicators. Ladder position was significantly negatively associated with ‘hit-outs’, ‘clearances’, and ‘inside 50’s’, respectively. Comparatively, the remaining team performance indicators were unable to significantly explain ladder position. These results show that teams ranked higher on the AFL ladder (closer to one) possess distinctive performance indicator characteristics. This data may be of use to AFL coaches and performance analysts when developing game-plans and training drill designs.

Evolution of game-play in the Australian Football League from 2001 to 2015

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the evolution of game-play manifested via team performance indicator characteristics in the Australian Football League (AFL) from the 2001 to 2015 seasons. The mean values for 18 performance indicators were collated for every AFL team over 15-seasons. A multivariate analysis was used to uncover temporal trends in the dataset. Compared to the 2004 season, the 2005 to 2010 seasons were characterised by large growth in the counts of handballs (d = 0.83; 90% CI = 0.22–1.43), disposals (d = 1.24; 90% CI = 0.59–1.87), uncontested possessions (d = 1.37; 90% CI = 0.71–2.01), clangers (d = 2.14; 90% CI = 1.39–2.86) and marks (d = 1.43; 90% CI = 0.76–2.07). Contrastingly, the effective disposal percentage declined rapidly during the same period. The number of inside 50 m counts remained stable throughout the 15-season period. The ordination plot of league-wide performance indicator characteristics illustrated a distinct cluster from the 2001 to 2004 seasons, an abrupt shift from the 2005 to 2009 seasons, and an emergent (re)stabilisation from the 2010 to 2015 seasons. The results demonstrate the synchronous league-wide evolution of game-play in the AFL from the 2001 to 2015 seasons. Amongst other constituents, this evolution likely reflects the introduction of modernised coaching strategies, rule changes and changing perceptions of rule interpretations.

Effect of high-speed running on hamstring strain injury risk

BackgroundHamstring strain injuries (HSIs) are common within the Australian Football League (AFL) with most occurring during high-speed running (HSR). Therefore, this study investigated possible relationships between mean session running distances,...

Club Identity/Class Identity: Negotiations of Popular Memory by Followers of the Australian Football League

A lot of the fun in contemporary sports talk relies on shared understandings about the culture of competitive sporting teams. The purpose of this paper is to explore how often humorous discourses are negotiated by sport fans as they narrate a sense of their own history and identity as followers of professional sports teams. This analysis draws on research conducted with followers of the Australian Football League (AFL), which included 21 life story interviews. As an oral historian, I was interested in how individuals negotiated popular ideas about Australian football in the ‘composition’ of their memories. This attention to the dynamic between the public and personal is described as a ‘popular memory approach’ to oral history. In this paper I explore the place of class in popular understandings about AFL club cultures. I argue that the role class plays in popular discourse around sporting club cultures is revealed more fully when we examine the ways in which individuals – in this case followers of AFL teams – make sense of it.

COMPARISON OF ECCENTRIC HAMSTRING STRENGTH AND INJURY RATES BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL AND SEMI-PROFESSIONAL AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALLERS

BackgroundHamstring strain injuries (HSI) are the most common injury within Australian football with reports showing no decrease in incidence over two decades.ObjectiveTo compare differences of HSIs and eccentric hamstring strength,...

Australian Football League: “home advantage”, “umpire bias” or both?

PurposeThis study sought to clarify potentially conflicting results from two prior studies examining the “home advantage”, and possible “umpire bias”, in the Australian Football League (AFL).Design/methodology/approachUsing categorical regression analysis, and controlling for team ability, the number of free kicks awarded to/against each AFL team during the home and away season of 2006 was investigated.FindingsThe findings support previous research suggesting home teams generally win more often and receive more favourable treatment from umpires. However, for games involving both a Victorian and a non‐Victorian team, there is clear evidence of “umpire bias” (beyond the traditional “home advantage”) operating against non‐Victorian teams.Research limitations/implicationsA major limitation of this study is that it only considers the number of free kicks awarded and not where, or when, those free kicks are awarded.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that the AFL should seriously consider appointing neutral umpires for all games (particularly those involving a Victorian and non‐Victorian team) and establishing an independent panel to oversee the development and selection of AFL umpires.Originality/valueThis is the first study of potential “bias” in the AFL that controls for team ability and, as such, helps to reconcile conflicting conclusions from two prior studies.

Game on: do children absorb sports sponsorship messages?

It is likely that there are substantial subconscious effects of organizations’ efforts to associate their products with sport via sponsorships, but most research methods are unable to capture these effects. The present study employed a novel projective technique to explore children's implicit associations between popular sports and a range of sports sponsors. Children participated in an activity using magnets bearing the logos of numerous sports and sponsors. They were invited to arrange the magnets on a whiteboard without being advised that the activity related to sponsorship. Perth, Western Australia. Children (n 164) aged 5–12 years. Three-quarters (76 %) of the children aligned at least one correct sponsor magnet with the relevant sport. Just over half the children (54 %) correctly matched the most popular sport (an Australian Football League team) with its relevant sponsor (a fast-food chain). Given the unstructured nature of the projective task, the results provide some support for the argument that sports sponsorship can effectively reach child audiences. This is of concern given the current extent of sponsorship by alcohol and fast-food companies.

Classifying Training Drills Based on Movement Demands in Australian Football

Time-motion data was used to classify a selection of training drills. Ten midfielders (age=23.8±1.8yr; height=183.9±3.8cm; mass=83.2±5.0 kg) from an Australian Football League team participated in 17 training drills and four quarters of an official competitive match. Heart rate and time-motion data were collected using Global Positioning and Heart Rate Systems. Cluster analysis of mean distance travelled in the seven velocity zones identified three clusters: 1) game-specific conditioning; 2) skill refining/moderate intensity dominant; and 3) skill refining/low intensity dominant. Differences between the three clusters in distance travelled at the speed zones were confirmed using one-way ANOVA. Differences between clusters were also assessed for number of efforts in velocity zones and percentage time in heart rate zones. When compared to drills with a focus on skill refining or performed on a reduced playing area, drills utilising the entire playing field better replicated the movement characteristics of competitive game play.

(Un)reasonable Doubt: A "Narrative Immunity" for Footballers against Sexual Assault Allegations

(Un)reasonable Doubt: A "Narrative Immunity" for Footballers against Sexual Assault Allegations

An examination of sport fandom in Australia: Socialization, team identification, and fan behavior

To examine sport fandom in Australia, a convenience sample of 163 university students (62% males, 38% females, M = 21.3) attending a large, multi-sector institution located in a western suburb of Melbourne voluntarily completed a 25-item questionnaire survey which included the Sport Fandom Questionnaire ( Wann, 2002 ) and the Sport Spectator Identification Scale ( Wann and Branscombe, 1993 ). Descriptive and inferential statistics revealed that males chose ‘friends’ as their most influential sport fan socialization agent while females ranked friends, parents and school about the same. Male socialization agents were very important for both sexes with ‘father’ chosen most influential. Males scored higher on every measure of sport fandom behavior including attending sports events, watching sports on television, listening to sports on the radio, engaging in a sports conversation with others, and accessing sport information via the Internet. Australian Football League teams were chosen ‘favorite team’ by 81 percent of the total sample; selection was unrelated to the respondent’s sex. Compared with similar data obtained from US, Norwegian and Greek university student samples, these Australian students were judged greater sport consumers and more heavily identified with the sport fan role and a favorite team.

Does the Australian Football League Draft Undervalue Indigenous Australian Footballers?

Economics assumes that behavior is based on rational expectations and market efficiency. However, previous research into professional sports indicates that there are cases where decisions are consistently made that do not conform to this. This article examines this issue within the context of how indigenous Australian footballers are recruited via the Australian Football League (AFL) draft. A panel data econometric model was used to look at the relationship between player performance and the expectations placed on these players when they were first drafted. The results show that, on average, indigenous Australian footballers outperform their expectations. Therefore, the question is ‘‘Why do AFL teams not draft more indigenous players?’’ Some of the reasons why teams may be averse to drafting such players are discussed, although we are unable to rule out irrationality as a possible explanation.