The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of
a new test of agility, the reactive agility test (RAT), which included anticipation and
decision-making components in response to the movements of a tester. Thirty-eight
Australian football players took part in the study, categorized into either a higher
performance group (HPG) (n = 24) or lower performance group (LPG) (n = 14) based on
playing level from the previous season. All participants undertook testing of a 10m
straight sprint (10 mSS), a 8—9m change of direction speed test (CODST), and the
RAT. Test—retest and inter-tester reliability testing measures were conducted with
the LPG. The intra-class correlation (ICC) of the RAT was 0.870, with no significant
(p < 0.05) difference between the test results obtained on the first and second test
sessions using a t-test. A dependent samples t-test revealed no significant (p < 0.05)
difference between the test results of two different testers with the same population.
The HPG were significantly (p = 0.001) superior to those of the LPG on the
RAT, with no differences observed on any other variable. The RAT is an acceptably
reliable test when considering both test—retest reliability, as well as inter-rater
reliability. In addition, the test was valid in distinguishing between players of differing
performance level in Australian football, while the 10 mSS and CODST were
not. This result suggests that traditional closed skill sprint and sprint with direction
change tests may not adequately distinguish between players of different levels of
competition in Australian football.