Physiological responses of elite junior Australian rules footballers during matchplay

Australian football (af) is australia’s major football code.despite research in other football codes, to date, no data hasbeen published on the physiological responses of af playersduring match play. fifteen athletes (17.28 ± 0.76 yrs) participatedin four pre-season matches, sanctioned by australianfootball league (afl) victoria, investigating heart rate (hr),blood lactate (bla), core temperature (tcore), and hydrationstatus. match hr was measured continuously using hr monitors.bla was measured via finger prick lancet at the end of eachquarter of play. tcore was measured by use of ingestible temperaturesensor and measured wirelessly at the end of eachquarter of play. hydration status was measured using refractometry,measuring urine specific gravity, and body weight preand post-match. environmental conditions were measured continuouslyduring matches. results of hr responses showed ahigh exertion of players in the 85-95% maximum hr range.elevated mean bla levels, compared to rest, were observed inall players over the duration of the matches (p = 0.007). meantcore rose 0.68 °c between start and end of matches. meanusg increased between 0.008 g/ml (p = 0.001) with mean bodyweight decreasing 1.88 kg (p = 0.001). this study illustratesphysiological responses in junior af players playing in the heatas well as providing physiological data for consideration by afcoaching staff when developing specific training programs.continued research should consider physiological measurementsunder varying environments, and at all playing levels of af, toascertain full physiological responses during af matches.