title: The relationship between physical capacity and match performance in elite Australian football: a mediation approach.
abstract: The aim of this study was to verify if yo-yo intermittent recovery test (level 2) (yo-yo IR2) score is linked to Australian football (AF) performance through match exercise intensity. Six week prospective study design. Twenty-one data sets were recorded from nine individual players that completed the yo-yo IR2, and played an Australian Football League match in the first five rounds of the 2010 season wearing a global positioning system (GPS) unit. Simple mediation modelling was used to analyse the inter-relationship between yo-yo IR2 score, match exercise intensity and AF performance. Playing position and experience were also incorporated into the model to identify conditional affects. A significant direct relationship was observed between yo-yo IR2 and number of ball disposals (p<0.1) and a significant indirect relationship was observed between yo-yo IR2 and number of ball disposals through distance travelled at high intensity (HIR m min(-1)) (p<0.1). Moderation analysis showed that playing position affected the relationship between of yo-yo IR2 and HIR m min(-1) (p<0.1) and HIR m min(-1) and total ball disposals (p<0.1). Playing experience also significantly affected the relationship between HIR m min(-1) and total ball disposals. This study is the first to identify the effects of yo-yo IR2 on total ball disposals through HIR m min(-1) performed during AF matches, and that playing position and playing experience affect these interactions.
authors.affiliation: School of Human Movement & Sports Sciences, University of Ballarat, Australia. mitch15 886@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Mitchell
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mooney
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cormack
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coutts
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.forename: Warren
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D001315:Australia; D005538:Football / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017008:Negotiating / Q000379:methods; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult