Fairbank, MatthewHighton, JamieDaniels, MatthewTwist, Craig2021-11-232021-11-232022-01-07Fairbank, M., Daniels, M., Highton, J., & Twist, C. (2022). The content and load of preseason field-based training in a championship winning professional rugby league team: A case study. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 17(6), 1445–1454. https://doi.org/10.1177/174795412110648721747-954110.1177/17479541211064872http://hdl.handle.net/10034/626405Fairbank, M., Daniels, M., Highton, J., & Twist, C., The content and load of preseason field-based training in a championship winning professional rugby league team: A case study, International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 17(6), 1445–1454. Copyright © [2022] (Copyright Holder). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.This study reports on the content and periodisation of the preseason field-based training for a professional rugby league team. Thirty elite male rugby league players (26 ± 5 y, 180.9 ± 6.5 cm, 94 ± 9 kg) completed an 8-week preseason. Global positioning system devices and heart rate were used to monitor physical and physiological responses of different field-based training components (speed, conditioning, rugby skill and game-based training). Rugby skill training contributed the most to total distance covered, conditioning was the greatest contributor to high-speed running (>15 km.h-1) and game-based training provided the greatest high metabolic distance (>20 W.kg-1) and overall external load. Game-based training provided the greatest time with heart rate 80% estimated maximum. Field-based training comprised a 4-week increase in total distance, followed by a “regeneration week” in week 5 before a peak in load during week 6. The weekly pre-season cycle had lower loads on Monday and Thursday whereas Tuesday and Friday produced the highest loads. The preseason described herein adopted a progressive overload comprising a weekly undulating cycle. This study emphasises how skill and games-based training contributes significantly to the overall load of a professional rugby league team’s preseason with more traditional conditioning promoting high speed running load and high metabolic load.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/internal loadexternal loadperiodisationeliteteam sportsArticle2048-397XInternational Journal of Sports Science & Coaching