%0 Journal Article
%T Effects of concussion on technical performance in professional Australian Football
%J Science and medicine in football
%D 2022
%A Clarke, Anthea C.
%A Middleton, Kane J.
%A Gretgrix, Hannah
%A Pearce, Alan J.
%V ePub
%N ePub
%P ePub-ePub
%X There is limited research on the on-field performance of previously concussed athletes. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate athlete technical performance pre- and post-concussion in Australian Football. Using publicly available data, male athletes who sustained a concussion during the 2016-19 professional Australian Football League seasons were analysed across five games pre- and post-concussion (concussion events n=41, age 25.4 ± 3.5 years; control n=39, age 25.2 ± 3.6 years). Mean technical performance metrics (goals, time-on-ground percentage, kicks, ground ball and disposal efficiency, contested marks) over the five games pre- and post-concussion, as well as within-athlete performance variability measures (standard deviation and coefficient of variation) were analysed. <br><br>RESULTS showed no significant group-by-time interactions, nor effect of time (pre-post) for any technical performance metric. Similarly, the within-athlete standard deviation and coefficient of variation of technical performance metrics showed no group-by-time interaction, nor effect for time. This retrospective study has shown that athlete performance averaged over five games is not affected post-concussion in elite men's Australian Football. Further prospective studies controlling for contextual match factors based on opposition and environmental conditions may be required to identify potential in-game technical performance changes following return-to-play from concussion.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Informa - Taylor and Francis Group
%@ 2473-3938
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2022.2103177