Midfielders will spend more time forward in 2016 after interchange rotations cutNovember 1, 2015
JON RALPH
Herald SunSTAR midfielders have been warned they must spend the summer transforming into attacking weapons due to the AFL’s new interchange limit.
The league has reduced rotations to 90 next year, with St Kilda’s sports science manager Simon Kearney yesterday adamant it would open up the game as a spectacle.
He says the heavy game loads will reduce the capacity of teams to train during the season, with midfielders to run up to 17km a game.
Clubs with mature midfielders with many pre-seasons under their belt with adapt quickest, throwing up the possibility of more blowouts involving younger sides.
With players on the ground for longer stints, Kearney says midfielders going forward to rest will be a key feature of the 2016 season.
“The big one with midfielders, which may have the biggest effect, is you are going to see some really exciting inside midfielders having a rest forward,’’ he said.
“It will be exciting and pretty scary if you have got a Jack Steven or Nat Fyfe sneaking forward, it will put a bit of pressure on the backs.
“Even though they are resting down there they will be capable of doing anything. Those guys are going to have to rest forward and rest deep.”
St Kilda has already tried to increase player loads in preparation for reduced interchange, but will push their players’ aerobic fitness over the pre-season.
Kearney, with experience at the Melbourne Demons, Tennis Australia, Melbourne Tigers and Melbourne Storm, will be part of a Saints team trying to fast-track the fitness of a young St Kilda team.
Some midfielders will have four less rotations so will be on the ground in longer stints that will encourage one-on-one play.
But the fallout will be minimal training during the year and younger sides tiring early in the year.
“We will still be working on top-end speed and repeat efforts but there will be a focus on building tanks.
“Their game volumes are going to have to go up so we won’t be able to do as much training during the week.
“If guys are getting used to 90 rotations, their recovery during the week will have to go up.
“The volume will be going up and they will be running 1-2km extra a game.
“Joey (Montagna) would run around 14-15km a game so it puts more emphasis on knowing where to run.”
The younger teams might battle but clubs with ageing midfields like triple premiership Hawthorn will also have to monitor them for injuries and fatigue.
“It is going to affect both ends of the spectrum. Teams with lots of players in the (age group) between 24 and 28-29 will cope OK.
“You could find younger clubs struggling with it, there could be more blowouts or then again there could be more scraps and closer games.
“Regardless of rotations the younger clubs struggle more towards the end of the year, so it will be interesting to see if that is emphasised more with 90 rotations.”
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/midfielders-will-spend-more-time-forward-in-2016-after-interchange-rotations-cut/news-story/2bedcdf31c83c0d3c783e9017ac35f77