In this series, I’ll investigate the science behind this divisive question alongside former elite NRL coach and trainer, Rohan Smith. First up, it’s Australian rules football.
In Round 7 of 2017, Greater Western Sydney’s Tom Scully – aerobic animal, the leanest footballer you’ve ever seen – spent 128 minutes and 13 seconds on field in one professional game. That’s more than two hours of constant running, sprinting, tackling and skill execution.
It is not unusual for AFL players to spend 100 per cent of game time on the ground.
However, the research suggests the best way to optimise a team’s collective effort is to use the interchange bench to rotate players on and off for short periods of rest.
Those players who do spend the full game on the ground tend to be big bodied forwards and defenders, so-called key position players who spend most of their time at one end of the ground.
Midfielders, generally ten centimetres or more shorter and anywhere from ten to 20 kilograms lighter on muscle, receive the lion’s share of the bursts of rest – particularly since the league introduced a cap on the use of the interchange.
Tom Scully is not a key position player. He is an outside midfielder with a listed weight of 79 kilograms, whose job is primarily to run across the ground and link up the play between the forward and back half. The interchange bench is made for him.
In the aforementioned fixture, Scully’s team (the GWS Giants) had been ravaged by injury. His freakish aerobic capacity meant he was relied upon to make up for his team’s reduced numbers on the bench.
Data on how far AFL players run in game is kept behind ethereal but impenetrable walls. A 2009 academic study produced by Catapault Sports, the Australian inventors and world leaders in wearable GPS technologies, found in their sample of 20 midfielders the average distance covered in a game was 17.5 kilometres (the range was 12.9 kilometres to 18.9 kilometres) in between 108 minutes and 114 minutes of active playing time.
Scully certainly ran more than that in his freakish outing. While he is the outlier, it’s clear that among major professional Australian sports, Australian rules football produces the athletes with the highest level of endurance.
On endurance, cricket and Australian rules football seem like chalk and cheese. But it’s not that simple. Rohan Smith agrees.
“One thing to consider in regards to endurance is what many performance staff call time on legs,” he said.
“While Test match cricketers have repeated running endurance for days at a time, the biggest endurance element to cricket is concentration, decision making and skill execution,” Smith said.
“The running element is significant, but overall given we are talking about the athletic component of endurance I would have to say the endurance of an AFL player is superior.”
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
One of the downsides of this focus on the ability to run all game is strength – where in this instance AFL players only rank around the middle of the pack. The average AFL-listed players in 2017 weigh in at 85 kilograms; heavier than Scully, who at 79 kilograms sits comfortable in the bottom quintile of players by mass, but significantly lighter than both professional rugby codes.
These days, it is uncommon for a rugby union forward to weigh in under 100 kilograms, while most backs sit somewhere between the average AFL player and triple figures. This is, in most cases, muscle mass, not sheer size. Union’s monsters weigh in at 120 kilograms or more, the point at which muscle mass and general mass begin to blur into one.
Take now-Wallabies mainstay Israel Folau as an example. Folau was one of the GWS Giants’ inaugural players, making the switch from rugby league as a marketing tool to build some buzz around the heathen Western Sydney suburbs. According to the Daily Telegraph, Folau dropped seven kilograms in his first year as a Giant, playing at a still-large 98 kegs. Rugby.com.au now lists Folau at 103 kilograms.
As Rohan mentioned when we chatted about Australian rules players, they’re mostly sculpted with running endurance in mind; rugby players of both codes are built for heavier and more frequent collisions.
There is an interesting distinction to be made between professional athletes in Australian rules football and Association football (which will henceforth be dubbed soccer for ease of distinction). Both sports require a balance of speed, power and agility given they are what I termed ‘360 degree’ sports, as opposed to the more ‘front-facing’ attrition of the rugby codes or highly-structured interactions in cricket.
Despite both Australian rules football and soccer having many players of similar size and body shape – in the main, Aaron Sandilands could not play professional soccer – Rohan was of the view Australian football produced athletes with greater power and agility.
“There is a strength and power component in professional level soccer in Australia – but more isometric strength in holding people off rather than trying to throw them to the ground or physically dominate,” Smith said.
Key Information
Ryan and Rohan are making these judgments based on the highest level of domestic competition in each of the sports – except for cricket, where the Australian test team seems like the more appropriate comparator.
In this series, each sport will be ranked on key categories. We’ll reveal the final scores and the top sport at the end of the series.
Endurance: the length of time an athlete is required to perform at their peak, in a game and over the course of a season.
Power: how explosive an athlete needs to be, in both speed and strength terms, over and above the “resting” state of play.
Agility: a measure of an athlete’s required evasiveness, ability to change direction and be aware of those around them.
Speed: how fast is a player required to move around the field, both in sprints and general play.
Stay tuned for the next instalment when we’ll discuss cricket.
The full series
» Part One: AFL
» Part Two: Cricket
» Part Three: Rugby league
» Part Four: Rugby union
» Part Five: Football
» Part Six: Final Results
This series is sponsored by by POWERADE, fuelling rivalry through the POWERADE POWERSCORE. The Powerade Powerscore, developed in conjunction with the New South Wales Institute of Sport, allows you to compare yourself to mates and elite athletes.
jeznez
Roar Guru
As I call out above - the single bit of skill that I see stand out in lower grade converts is the ability to collect a ball that is behind them while travelling at pace. Whether that is a clean take or juggling the ball in order to collect. I hear you saying that the rounder ball in union is easier to catch - perhaps I should be using rules balls during my union catch and pass drills. Although the fact the rules ball is smaller should make it easier to handle! certainly the adult Sherrin's dimensions are almost identical to a Gilbert size 4 which is for 11-13 year olds. Sherrin (adult): 72cm x 54cm Gilbert size 4 (11-13 yrs): 72cm x 55.5cm World Rugby official size 5 (adult): 74-77cm x 58-62cm The adult ball is much rounder but the kids ball is very close in size and are much easier to handle.
Perry Bridge
Guest
#Agent11 .....I see what you're doing. I reckon he'd be fine - - only having to worry about guys coming at him from front on - the predictability of it all. Seriously though - he does thrive on body contact. There's 2 types of people - those who thrive on body contact and those that don't.....they become extinct!! The rounder ball easier to handle. And when he breaks the lines - he'd leave most in his wake. I reckon he'd be fine - - it really would be a case of 'dumbing down' to the more predictable formation structured barely contested nature of the game and learning strategies for keeping count on one hand before kicking it.
Perry Bridge
Guest
Soccer....outside of the goalie.
Cat
Roar Guru
You mention 'Half the time is spent laying on top of each other.' but fail to mention 50% of boxing is running away from each other, 80% running if Mayweather is fighting. They also aren't just 'laying there' doing nothing. Rear naked chokes, kamura's, triangle chokes, arm bars, ankle locks the list goes on. There is very little vertical nature to boxing, its all stand up and facing each other. Only hand to worry about your opponents two hands. MMA you need to watch for two feet, two knees, two elbows and two hands and that's on the ground and on their feet. Sure boxers get up after getting knocked down because no one is allowed to touch them when down. MMA fighters get no such break. Just take a look at what MMA fighters look like the day after a fight compared to boxers. Most boxers you wouldn't even know were in a fight.
Perry Bridge
Guest
#Matt Jones What exactly to Folau and Hunt 'walk straight into'? 2 uncompetitive (at the time) start up clubs made up predominantly of 18-20 year old draftees. re your assertion "you couldn’t do that in other codes" Well - you can actually - and Rugby Union and League are proof of that. Let alone the 2 you mention - Hunt and Folau couldn't justify retention in the 2 worst clubs (at the time) in an 18 team AFL league and now look at them - both Wallabies. What's that tell you??
Agent11
Guest
Perry - I would love to see someone like Franklin convert to League. Do you think he could handle the much higher defensive work required, the harder and higher number of collisions, do you think he would be able to break through a line of defenders? At his current weight and body shape he would get crushed and even if he bulked up i am guessing he would find it difficult without much of a league background. He might be great under the highball though. AFL displays some wonderful skill and athleticism, however there is also an awful lot of miss kicks, fumbles and sloppy looking play in between....
Perry Bridge
Guest
#Jeznez The Rugby ball too - - is much rounder than the AFL ball. This is why many Rugby followers get confused watching AFL and regard it was 'fumble ball' - - the ball is far less predictable than either of the Rugby balls. The hand/eye skills of AFL players are extremely good. Let alone with a contest coming from anywhere. Funnily enough - when it doesn't work is normally 'above the head'. Confidence is such a massive part. Don't over think it - and have faith in the skills. Most AFL training involves the balls being involved. Some clubs in pre-season might hide the balls away and focus on running for the first few weeks. A lot of 'quick hands' drills. No time to think - purely reactionary. Consider to though - the quick get and then the quick give - the repositioning of the ball and hands and body to be ready to dish off a handball. There's a lot happening in a short time.
Perry Bridge
Guest
#Matt Jones Ironically - the 2 Rugby (League) players is assume you are referring to - Folau and Hunt - actually illustrated the chasm that there was. They would never have got a game in a decent AFL side and struggled to justify a game in 1st/2nd year Suns and Giants filled with young kids. Hunt just couldn't run out a game - he had at least played some decent school footy as a junior and had been on the radar of the Brisbane Lions. Folau - managed in the end to play some half decent games as a forward in the NEAFL but was all at sea in the AFL. The one you haven't referred to (I assume) is Mike Pyke - the Canadian Union player who managed to turn himself into a decent ruckman for the Swans and in the end a premiership ruckman - - and now a naturalised Aussie. He was a slow burn - and a very hard worker who came to the AFL rather than being lured. The point here being that his mindset was more focussed on the task where as Folau and Hunt clearly had in the back of their minds an escape route.
Perry Bridge
Guest
#Tricky re Spatial awareness - I was musing that too - last night on Tele there was a snippet on the Bont (Marcus Bontempelli) and he credited his basketball experience with helping his spatial awareness (hey!! why is spatial spelt with a 't' and not a 'c'??) and associated movement. Pendlebury has been widely reported as having a high quality basketball background. AFL has learned one thing via 'project players' and that is tricks from other codes. This is something the other codes don't necessarily encounter - - you don't see code conversion project players in other codes. Basketballer into the Socceroos or Rugby? So - this is a variation on this - the outward view of AFL coaching/recruiting has created a new age hybrid AFL system that helps explain the supposition of this article.
Perry Bridge
Guest
#Agent11 The irony of you mentioning Folau is how far off the pace he was in AFL circles. The coaches there were somewhat astounded when watching the match footage of Folau in NRL and just how much of the time he was walking. In some respects I look at a guy like Inglis and wish he'd play a slightly more dynamic sport - - RL is a bit one dimensional and I reckon he had a whole lot more athleticism to express. Contrasting there Buddy Franklin and Inglis. I remember watching a game in recent years where Inglis has the ball and is straight line running and the slow mo replay is shown and the commentators are waxing lyrical about he being a Rolls Royce etc.......he was running a straight line carrying the ball for chrissake!!
Perry Bridge
Guest
#AR However - even a fellow like Sandilands - if he marks the ball or earns a free kick - - he has to take that disposal. He might try to hand ball it off - but if he's 40 metres out and the siren goes - he has to kick the ball. Betts - far less of a specialist. Yes - he'll try to stay close to goal however for full team defence he has to play his part in that too. He's less of a specialist than the old stay at home forward pocket - - although, in the old days off on ground rotations the small forward pocket was the resting rover and the 'specialist' role was the small defender to try to negate the resting rover. #Tricky In response to #Celtic further down the thread I've mentioned the hand/eye skills in AFL of fighting for a contested ball more so than happens in RL by a mile and RU by someway too. Too true - the shape of the ball - even in comparison to the more rounded Rugby variants - the Sherrin less predictable. Many Rugby advocates don't seem to recognise this when they carry on about 'fumble ball' - - the RL folk in particular seem unable to grasp the concept of persistent contested ball.
Braintrust
Guest
Actually Slater was fit as well, he came second in the mini iron man. Not that its a requirement in his rugby league position, Sailor came last and so would have Folau. In a test of speed and power he was behind Wendell Sailor who won the sled push. In speed he was behind James Oconnor from rugby and Steve Hooker. Why is it the AFL players could not win the kicking challenges first two seasons. The first bloke Deledio he lost to Andrew Symonds followed by Slater and tied with Tuqiri a poor rugby kicker. Slater is a great all round sportsman not the best athlete.
Redb
Roar Guru
Agent11, Agree. Different sports require different attributes. Sprint v Endurance.
Slane
Guest
You clearly never saw them play...
Tricky
Guest
"Spatial awareness" Good example would be Scott Pendlebury, he can make time slow down - or so it seems by seemingly being able to predict things before they happen a split second beforehand. Which category would one measure/quantify that?
Tricky
Guest
Add - no one has mentioned the oval ball unpredictability vs the round ball predictability
Matt Jones
Guest
how can AGL be up there where Folau and Hunt walked straight into AFL? you couldn't do that in other codes
Matt Jones
Guest
you mean AFL the sport where 2 rugby players made the AFL?
Raimond
Roar Guru
We shouldn't be too quick to assume that "larger" = "stronger". One vivid memory I have of the Ablett vs. Silvagni duels of the mid-90s is how often the wiry Silvagni would beat Ablett in wrestling contests.
Kavvy
Guest
Would love to see someone like Cyril Rioli playing "the beautiful game". And don't tell the kiwis that liitle league/union upstart fact or you'll get your head bitten off (no matter how right you are!)