title: Influence of field size on the physiological and skill demands of small-sided games in junior and senior rugby league players.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of changes in field size on the physiological and skill demands of small-sided games in elite junior and senior rugby league players. Sixteen elite senior rugby league players ([mean ± SE] age, 23.6 ± 0.5 years) and 16 elite junior rugby league players ([mean ± SE] age, 17.3 ± 0.3 years) participated in this study. On day 1, 2 teams played an 8-minute small-sided game on a small field (10-m width × 40-m length), whereas the remaining 2 teams played the small-sided game on a larger sized field (40-m width × 70-m length). On day 2, the groups were crossed over. Movement was recorded by a global positioning system unit sampling at 5 Hz. Games were filmed to count the number of possessions and the number and quality of disposals. The games played on a larger field resulted in a greater (p < 0.05) total distance covered, and distances covered in moderate, high, and very-high velocity movement intensities. Senior players covered more distance at moderate, high, and very-high intensities, and less distance at low and very-low intensities during small-sided games than junior players. Although increasing field size had no significant influence (p > 0.05) over the duration of recovery periods for junior players, larger field size significantly reduced (p < 0.05) the amount of short-, moderate-, and long-duration recovery periods in senior players. No significant between-group differences (p > 0.05) were detected for games played on a small or large field for the number or quality of skill involvements. These results suggest that increases in field size serve to increase the physiological demands of small-sided games but have minimal influence over the volume or quality of skill executions in elite rugby league players.
authors.affiliation: School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, Queensland, Australia. tim_gabbett@yahoo.com.au
authors.forename: Tim J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Gabbett
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Abernethy
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Jenkins
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004777:Environment; D005538:Football / Q000502:physiology*; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology; D014741:Video Recording; D055815:Young Adult