The State of Origin series for Australian rugby league football will feature Catapult Sports, as every player will wear special RFIDs in competition to enable the monitoring of workloads and broadcaster Channel Nine to provide data to fans.
When the three-game series kicks off Wednesday in Brisbane, Australia, the debut of the wearable player-tracking devices will come following a two-year development process of the Local Positioning System technology (LPS). According to the National Rugby League and Nine, the data is accurate to within 15 centimeters and more accurate than GPS as it relies on 20 beacons that are placed around venues.
“This is a very exciting initiative for the game which will have significant benefits not only for our fans but for players as well,” NRL head of strategy David Silverton said in a statement.
“With this advanced technology, viewers will be able to access new insights into how the game is played and it will no doubt further highlight the unbelievable athletic qualities of the best of the best in rugby league.
“These devices are smaller, faster and more accurate than they have ever been in Rugby League. They will measure more than just how far a player runs — viewers will now be given heat maps, top speeds, stop starts, and other insights.”
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Catapult has for years provided player-tracking solutions for rugby. This time, Nine’s Wide World of Sports will have a tracking system, the Telstra Tracker, deliver the in-match technology and enhanced statistical coverage to viewers for the first time in Game 1 of the series.
“We’re going to compare hookers, who’s doing the work, who’s covering the most metres, who’s the fastest winger, and heat maps showing comparing the all the big Origin player match-ups,” Nine Wide World of Sports head of creative Alex Rolls said in a statement.
Added Executive Producer of Nine NRL Ben Clark in a statement: “The data we’ll display will take the audience deeper into the inner sanctum of what’s available to players and coaches during a match and give everyone watching a greater understanding of what it takes to play rugby league at the ultimate level.”