ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Describe the highest frequency and variability for tackle events in rugby league. Investigate seasonal differences in total tackle events per match over a seven-year period. DESIGN: Retrospective observational. METHODS: Tackle events (i.e., ball carrier events [attacker] and tackler involvements [defender]) from 864 male professional rugby league players competing in 1176 Super League matches from 2014 to 2020 were included. A series of linear mixed effect models were used to determine the frequency and variability during peak 1-, 3-, 5-, 10-, 20-, 40-min and whole-match tackle events per player per match at a positional group level. Differences between seasons for the total number of tackle events per match were compared using a one-way analysis of variance and with Tukey's honestly significant difference test. RESULTS: Tackle events were greatest for Props (51.5 [47.7-55.4] per match). Within-players, between-matches, and between-seasons variability was <10â¯% for tackle events. There were significantly less tackle events and tackler involvements per match in 2014 and a significantly more tackle events per match in season 2020b when compared with all other seasons. CONCLUSIONS: Large between-position variability in peak tackle events, ball carrier events, and tackler involvements would suggest that coaches should separate players into positional groups and prescribe training accordingly. Total number of tackle events, ball carrier events, and tackler involvements were significantly greater in season 2020b when compared to season 2014 to 2019 (inclusive) which may be a consequence of rule changes introduced to the sport.
Subject(s)
Athletic Performance , Football , Humans , Linear Models , Male , Retrospective Studies , RugbyABSTRACT
The 2019 and 2020 Super League (SL) seasons included several competition rule changes. This study aimed to quantify the difference between the 2018, 2019 and 2020 SL seasons for duration, locomotor and event characteristics of matches. Microtechnology and match event data were analysed from 11 SL teams, comprising 124 players, from 416 competitive matches across a three-year data collection period. Due to an enforced suspension of league competition as a consequence of COVID-19 restrictions, and subsequent rule changes upon return to play, season 2020 was divided into season 2020a (i.e. Pre-COVID suspension) and season 2020b (i.e. Post-COVID suspension). Duration, locomotor variables, and match events were analysed per whole-match and ball-in-play (BIP) periods with differences between seasons determined using mixed-effects models. There were significant (ρ ≤ 0.05) reductions in whole-match and BIP durations for adjustables and backs in 2019 when compared to 2018; albeit the magnitude of reduction was less during BIP analyses. Despite reduced duration, adjustables reported an increased average speed suggesting reduced recovery time between bouts. Both forwards and adjustables also experienced an increase in missed tackles between 2018 and 2019 seasons. When comparing 2019 to 2020a, adjustables and backs increased their average speed and distance whilst all positional groups increased average acceleration both for whole-match and BIP analyses. When comparing 2020a to 2020b, all positional groups experienced reduced average speed and average acceleration for both whole-match and BIP analyses. Forwards experienced an increased number of tackles and carries, adjustables experienced an increased number of carries, and backs experienced an increased number of missed tackles when comparing these variables between season 2020a and 2020b. Rule changes have a greater effect on whole-match duration and locomotor characteristics than those reported during BIP periods which suggests the implemented rule changes have removed stagnant time from matches. Amendments to tackle related rules within matches (e.g., introduction of the 'six-again' rule) increases the number of collision related events such as carries and tackles.