TY - JOUR
T1 - The agility demands of Australian football
T2 - A notational analysis
AU - Rayner, Russell
AU - Young, W. B.
AU - Talpey, S. W.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Agility is essential to success in Australian football (AF). However, the nature of agility events in competition is currently unknown. This study analysed in-game 1v1 agility events to identify the movement and cognitive demands of agility in elite AF. The study described the technique, the angle of change of direction (COD), and the approach speed. Cognitive demands were inferred by recording inter-athlete position and deceptive manoeuvres. Findings revealed sidestepping to be commonly used for both attacking and defending athletes. However, attacking athletes were substantially more likely to use the sidestep technique than their defending counterparts (74% vs 39% of the time). Analysis of movement speeds indicated a preference for submaximal approaches. Further, the movement technique was varied, with the angle of directional change particularly diverse. Overall, the notational analysis indicates a need for agility training and testing that reflects in-game agility demands. To achieve this, training and testing must allow for submaximal movement speeds, context-specific techniques, and the use of deceptive manoeuvres. Field-based or subjective assessment methods are proposed as viable testing alternatives. Further, the effectiveness of recorded deceptive actions suggests that athletes should be provided with training opportunities to practice fake disposals and fake CODs.
AB - Agility is essential to success in Australian football (AF). However, the nature of agility events in competition is currently unknown. This study analysed in-game 1v1 agility events to identify the movement and cognitive demands of agility in elite AF. The study described the technique, the angle of change of direction (COD), and the approach speed. Cognitive demands were inferred by recording inter-athlete position and deceptive manoeuvres. Findings revealed sidestepping to be commonly used for both attacking and defending athletes. However, attacking athletes were substantially more likely to use the sidestep technique than their defending counterparts (74% vs 39% of the time). Analysis of movement speeds indicated a preference for submaximal approaches. Further, the movement technique was varied, with the angle of directional change particularly diverse. Overall, the notational analysis indicates a need for agility training and testing that reflects in-game agility demands. To achieve this, training and testing must allow for submaximal movement speeds, context-specific techniques, and the use of deceptive manoeuvres. Field-based or subjective assessment methods are proposed as viable testing alternatives. Further, the effectiveness of recorded deceptive actions suggests that athletes should be provided with training opportunities to practice fake disposals and fake CODs.
KW - AFL
KW - Agility
KW - Australian football
KW - Notational analysis
KW - Technique
UR - https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=woscharlessturt_pure&SrcAuth=WosAPI&KeyUT=WOS:000831102000001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS
U2 - 10.1080/24748668.2022.2106112
DO - 10.1080/24748668.2022.2106112
M3 - Article
SN - 2474-8668
VL - 22
SP - 621
EP - 637
JO - International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport
JF - International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport
IS - 4
ER -