Aussie greats defend AFL's controversial ban

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Australian netball large Liz Ellis has defended the AFL's determination to prohibition skinfold investigating connected incoming draught prospects.

The AFL earlier this week made headlines with its decision arsenic a fig of the game's starring voices spoke retired against it.

The intent of the skinfold trial is to measurement the assemblage abdominous percent and springiness clubs a amended thought of the fittingness level of a draught prospect.

Ellis was discussing the substance connected Nine's Sports Sunday alongside erstwhile Australian sports stars Casey Dellacqua and Peter FitzSimons.

FitzSimons, a erstwhile Wallaby, said the skinfold trial helped him enactment successful signifier during his nonrecreational car.

A young Lance Franklin has his skinfolds tested during AFL Draft Camp backmost successful 2004 (Getty)

"It helped support you honorable to accidental I won't person an other serving of pome pastry and crystal cream... I conjecture you person to interest astir players' feelings, but I deliberation if you're a nonrecreational athlete, portion of that is investigating your fitness, abdominous content," helium said.

"This whitethorn beryllium going a spot far."

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Responding to FitzSimons, Dellacqua, a erstwhile tennis star, said the skinfold trial isn't indispensable these days owed to amended exertion specified arsenic the DEXA scan which determines assemblage creation on with abdominous percent and thin muscle.

Dellacqua besides noted that determination "was thing worse than lasting up successful your bra and undies, and radical pinching your body".

Meanwhile, Ellis says skinfold investigating is intelligibly an outdated strategy and that nonrecreational organisations person since moved connected from it.

"I consciousness similar skinfolds are a truly blunt instrument," Ellis said.

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"Speaking to immoderate of the netball coaches, they've moved connected to utilizing this DEXA scan.

"Skinfolds archer you simply your abdominous level, whereas the DEXA scan tells you the musculus mass.

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"They're present utilized to not archer players you've got to suffer value oregon suffer your skinfolds, they really cognize they present person to archer players to bulk up.

"A truly bully illustration is (Sydney Swifts co-captain) Paige Hadley - they did a DEXA scan connected her, and they recovered her musculus wide wasn't capable to play her position.

"They told her to enactment connected 5 kilograms, which she did, and it wholly transformed her game."

Ellis besides mentioned however assemblage contented concerns among young males shouldn't beryllium ignored by the AFL.

"When you look astatine this contented with the AFL, it's the draftees. We cognize young men arsenic overmuch arsenic young women endure from assemblage representation issues," Ellis added.

"I hold with the ban... you're dealing with young men who haven't been astatine a nonrecreational club.

"They get tested connected their skinfolds and immoderate aren't going to beryllium selected, truthful they spell distant wondering - was it the skinfolds?

"I spoke to (Sydney Swifts caput coach) Briony Akle astir this, and I thought her constituent was absorbing - with skinfolds, the carnal benefits they get from the accusation bash not outweigh the intelligence outgo to the athlete. I deliberation that's key."

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