Movement Patterns and Match Statistics in the National Rugby League Women's (NRLW) Premiership

As women's rugby league grows, the need for understanding the movement patterns of the sport is essential for coaches and sports scientists. The aims of the present study were to quantify the position-specific demographics, technical match statistics, and movement patterns of the National Rugby...

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Main Authors: Tim Newans, Phillip Bellinger, Simon Buxton, Karlee Quinn, Clare Minahan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2021.618913/full
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author Tim Newans
Tim Newans
Phillip Bellinger
Phillip Bellinger
Simon Buxton
Karlee Quinn
Karlee Quinn
Clare Minahan
author_facet Tim Newans
Tim Newans
Phillip Bellinger
Phillip Bellinger
Simon Buxton
Karlee Quinn
Karlee Quinn
Clare Minahan
author_sort Tim Newans
collection DOAJ
description As women's rugby league grows, the need for understanding the movement patterns of the sport is essential for coaches and sports scientists. The aims of the present study were to quantify the position-specific demographics, technical match statistics, and movement patterns of the National Rugby League Women's (NRLW) Premiership and to identify whether there was a change in the intensity of play as a function of game time played. A retrospective observational study was conducted utilizing global positioning system, demographic, and match statistics collected from 117 players from all NRLW clubs across the full 2018 and 2019 seasons and were compared between the ten positions using generalized linear mixed models. The GPS data were separated into absolute (i.e., total distance, high-speed running distance, and acceleration load) and relative movement patterns (i.e., mean speed, mean high speed (> 12 km·h−1), and mean acceleration). For absolute external outputs, fullbacks covered the greatest distance (5,504 m), greatest high-speed distance (1,081 m), and most ball-carry meters (97 m), while five-eighths recorded the greatest acceleration load (1,697 m·s−2). For relative external outputs, there were no significant differences in mean speed and mean high speed between positions, while mean acceleration only significantly differed between wingers and interchanges. Only interchange players significantly decreased in mean speed as their number of minutes played increased. By understanding the load of NRLW matches, coaches, high-performance staff, and players can better prepare as the NRLW Premiership expands. These movement patterns and match statistics of NRLW matches can lay the foundation for future research as women's rugby league expands. Similarly, coaches, high-performance staff, and players can also refine conditioning practices with a greater understanding of the external output of NRLW players.
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spelling doaj.art-8f21c9aac9674d749356ddbcaeb13c0a2022-12-21T22:44:27ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sports and Active Living2624-93672021-02-01310.3389/fspor.2021.618913618913Movement Patterns and Match Statistics in the National Rugby League Women's (NRLW) PremiershipTim Newans0Tim Newans1Phillip Bellinger2Phillip Bellinger3Simon Buxton4Karlee Quinn5Karlee Quinn6Clare Minahan7Griffith Sports Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, AustraliaQueensland Academy of Sport, Nathan, QLD, AustraliaGriffith Sports Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, AustraliaQueensland Academy of Sport, Nathan, QLD, AustraliaNational Rugby League, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaGriffith Sports Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, AustraliaQueensland Academy of Sport, Nathan, QLD, AustraliaGriffith Sports Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, AustraliaAs women's rugby league grows, the need for understanding the movement patterns of the sport is essential for coaches and sports scientists. The aims of the present study were to quantify the position-specific demographics, technical match statistics, and movement patterns of the National Rugby League Women's (NRLW) Premiership and to identify whether there was a change in the intensity of play as a function of game time played. A retrospective observational study was conducted utilizing global positioning system, demographic, and match statistics collected from 117 players from all NRLW clubs across the full 2018 and 2019 seasons and were compared between the ten positions using generalized linear mixed models. The GPS data were separated into absolute (i.e., total distance, high-speed running distance, and acceleration load) and relative movement patterns (i.e., mean speed, mean high speed (> 12 km·h−1), and mean acceleration). For absolute external outputs, fullbacks covered the greatest distance (5,504 m), greatest high-speed distance (1,081 m), and most ball-carry meters (97 m), while five-eighths recorded the greatest acceleration load (1,697 m·s−2). For relative external outputs, there were no significant differences in mean speed and mean high speed between positions, while mean acceleration only significantly differed between wingers and interchanges. Only interchange players significantly decreased in mean speed as their number of minutes played increased. By understanding the load of NRLW matches, coaches, high-performance staff, and players can better prepare as the NRLW Premiership expands. These movement patterns and match statistics of NRLW matches can lay the foundation for future research as women's rugby league expands. Similarly, coaches, high-performance staff, and players can also refine conditioning practices with a greater understanding of the external output of NRLW players.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2021.618913/fullfemaleload monitoringexternal outputmixed modelmatch demandsGPS
spellingShingle Tim Newans
Tim Newans
Phillip Bellinger
Phillip Bellinger
Simon Buxton
Karlee Quinn
Karlee Quinn
Clare Minahan
Movement Patterns and Match Statistics in the National Rugby League Women's (NRLW) Premiership
Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
female
load monitoring
external output
mixed model
match demands
GPS
title Movement Patterns and Match Statistics in the National Rugby League Women's (NRLW) Premiership
title_full Movement Patterns and Match Statistics in the National Rugby League Women's (NRLW) Premiership
title_fullStr Movement Patterns and Match Statistics in the National Rugby League Women's (NRLW) Premiership
title_full_unstemmed Movement Patterns and Match Statistics in the National Rugby League Women's (NRLW) Premiership
title_short Movement Patterns and Match Statistics in the National Rugby League Women's (NRLW) Premiership
title_sort movement patterns and match statistics in the national rugby league women s nrlw premiership
topic female
load monitoring
external output
mixed model
match demands
GPS
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2021.618913/full
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