Relationships between training age, training load, performance measures and injury characteristics in elite junior rugby league players

Rugby league development systems are seen as an important stepping stone in the progression of talented junior athletes towards a professional career as an elite rugby league player. This progression involves extensive exposure to increasingly intense training environments. Which, in turn, exposes developing players to increased risk of adverse events with little guarantee of long-term success. The aims of this thesis were to 1) review the literature examining the effects of training loads on performance measures and injury characteristics in rugby league; 2) identify common injury characteristics of developmental rugby league players; 3) assess the training age of developing rugby league players across various training domains; 4) to determine any relationships between training age performance measures and injury characteristics in this population; 4) quantify the training loads in developmental rugby league players; 5) determine which training load variables, if any, were associated with injury characteristics in developing rugby league players. The studies investigating the training age of junior elite rugby league players indicate that a higher training age was indicative of increased injury risk in specific injury characteristics and greater improvements in performance measures in developmental players. Examination of training load variables and their relationships to injury characteristics demonstrated greater associations between particular training load variables and injury risk in specific injury characteristics. Such relationships varied according to age group. Importantly, this thesis also presented a model demonstrating a practical framework for the integration and application of training age and training load in the context of development programs. The model may directly inform and highlight implications at the macro (policy) and micro (athlete, practitioner) levels on critical areas of training practices related to athlete development in rugby league players. In conclusion, this thesis better informs training practices through providing a sound evidence base on the interplay between training age, training load, performance and injury. It is proposed that such research will have a meaningful effect on the way rugby league coaches and sports scientists design and implement training programs. Collectively, the outcomes of the thesis will significantly contribute to the field of rugby league based research in terms of the effects of training age and training load upon performance characteristics and injury risk