Understanding the Context in Which Australian Footballers Sprint During Match-Play.

Abstract: Guppy, R, Huynh, M, Davids, C, and Varley, MC. Understanding the context in which Australian footballers sprint during match-play. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2024-The aim of this study was to identify and describe the context in which Australian footballers perform sprint efforts during match-play. A secondary aim was to identify if different contextual factors influenced sprint occurrence within each position. A total of 4,224 sprint efforts (≥7.0 m·s-1) were analyzed from 37 elite Australian football players during the 2019 competitive season (21 matches). Players performed a median of 9 sprints per game (range: 0 to 29), with the median sprint distance being 13.4 m (range: 3.5-94.3 m), a median duration of 1.7 seconds (range: 0.5-12.7 seconds), and a median maximal speed per sprint of 7.54 m·s-1 (range: 7.02-9.61 m·s-1). Sprint efforts were coded for the following contextual factors: phase of play, player possession, player action, and the start and end field location. Of all sprint efforts, 39.7 and 36.9% occurred during the defensive and offensive phases, respectively. Most sprints (90.6%) were performed without the player having possession of the ball. Forwards performed the greatest proportion of sprints to create space (25.4%), backs to man an opponent (23.1%), midfielders to follow play (17.4%), and rucks to be first to the ball with pressure (22.2%). The context in which Australian football players perform sprints during matches will differ based on their position. This information can be used to design specific sprint training drills. Practitioners can use the methods outlined in this study to analyze the contextual factors within their own club and adjust training programs accordingly.