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Geelong champion Patrick Dangerfield wowed the AFL world throughout final week’s preliminary ultimate win in opposition to Hawthorn, pushing his 35-year-old physique to the restrict to propel his crew into this 12 months’s Grand Ultimate.
At an age when most AFL gamers have retired or are slowing down, Dangerfield showcased his immense bodily attributes, even prompting Hawks coach Sam Mitchell to plead: “I’m certainly ready for Dangerfield to retire.”
Now Dangerfield and his Geelong teammates will tackle Brisbane for the AFL premiership in a battle between the 2022 and 2024 winners, respectively.
It has taken these athletes greater than 10 months of intense coaching and preparation to get there. They’re finely tuned machines, constructed to satisfy the rigorous calls for of elite Australian guidelines soccer.
However what precisely constitutes the “perfect” AFL physique? And what qualities does an AFL athlete must succeed?
The bodily calls for of AFL
Australian soccer is an intermittent contact sport made up of frequent bursts of high-intensity exercise (reminiscent of sprinting, leaping and tackling) separated by transient intervals of low-intensity exercise (reminiscent of standing, strolling and jogging).
With this in thoughts, it requires gamers to excel in a number of bodily domains to achieve success:
Cardio health: analysis signifies the common AFL participant covers round 13 kilometers throughout a match, with some gamers even getting near 19km. Because of this, having excessive cardio health (the flexibility use oxygen to create power for bodily exercise) is integral to make sure they’ll each cowl these huge distances and preserve a excessive degree of efficiency
Repeated dash capability: along side the flexibility to run for a very long time, AFL athletes additionally want to have the ability to carry out repeated sprints with out fatiguing and shedding velocity—one thing often called “repeated sprint ability.” That is what ensures they keep quick and highly effective within the latter elements of video games
Energy: AFL is a contested sport. Gamers want higher and decrease physique power to put tackles, keep robust in marking contests and maintain their place beneath contact. As an example this, some older analysis signifies the common AFL participant can bench press about 125 kilograms, though there are anecdotal studies of bigger gamers benching greater than 170kg
Energy: along side brute power, AFL athletes additionally should be explosive. That is what permits them to leap excessive to take a mark or make a spoil, and is a defining attribute of elite AFL athletes. Present Higher Western Sydney participant Leek Aleer holds the report for the biggest operating soar top within the AFL, with a whopping 107 centimeters.
Velocity and agility: having the ability to change course and speed up quickly are important for evading opponents and creating scoring alternatives. These are sometimes thought of to be a number of the most necessary AFL attributes. Actually, some analysis suggests sooner gamers are considerably extra more likely to get drafted than slower gamers.
Choice making: AFL athletes additionally want to have the ability to make good selections when the ball is of their fingers. Making good split-second selections permits their crew to keep up possession, which might have a significant affect on the result of a sport.
Evolution of the AFL athlete
Analysis on the health of elite AFL athletes is sparse (understandably so—golf equipment would possibly wish to preserve this data personal as a aggressive edge).
However we do know the bodily profile of the everyday AFL participant has advanced dramatically over time.
Traditionally, gamers have been usually shorter and stockier, with a mean top of round 180cm within the Forties, after which round 184cm within the Nineties.
Nevertheless, there was a noticeable shift over the previous 30 years in direction of taller, leaner athletes. The common top of the modern-day participant is at present edging nearer to 190cm, with a notable variety of key place gamers exceeding 200cm.
We have now additionally seen the operating calls for of the sport improve. Over the previous 20 years, the whole distance athletes are touring has elevated. They’re additionally accelerating extra usually and spending extra time operating at sooner speeds.
This alteration has been considerably mirrored within the athletic profiles of the elite younger gamers hoping to get drafted, with a constant improve within the cardio health of draftees over the previous 20 years.
Apparently, it has been prompt this modification might largely be the results of modifications in sport type, the place groups are adopting a much less contested, sooner, extra free-flowing sport type.
Certainly, that is one thing we now have seen occur within the AFLW over the previous few seasons, which reinforces this suggestion.
The best AFL physique relies on the participant’s place
With all this in thoughts, it is necessary to notice it is not a one-size-fits-all method in relation to AFL athletes.
Completely different positions can have totally different necessities.
For instance, you may anticipate midfielders to be fitter, extra agile and bodily smaller than full forwards and full-backs. Conversely, you may nearly assure key forwards and defenders shall be greater and stronger than midfielders.
The trendy AFL athlete is a product of years of particular coaching and a deep understanding of the sport’s evolving calls for—and the Grand Ultimate is one of the best alternative to look at all of it come to fruition.
And because the sport continues to evolve, so will the perfect bodily profile of its athletes.
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Taller, leaner, sooner: The evolution of the ‘excellent’ AFL physique (2025, September 27)
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