A significant amount of research has examined the relationship between training load and injury, identifying patterns that increase injury risk. However, little research in Australian Football has examined training load and performance. The purpose of this study was to review the literature examining the training load-injury and the training load-performance relationships. Academic journal databases SPORTDiscus and PubMed were used to search for relevant literature. The searched included common terms relating to Australian rules football and other intermittent team sports with an emphasis on research relevant to the training load-injury and training load-performance relationships. Negative training stress balance (>-200%) and weekly spikes in load (>10-15%) appear the most indicative patterns of increasing injury risk. External (total-, high-speed- and sprint-running distance) and internal (sRPE) load methods are valid measures of training load to identify these patterns. Internal load measures appear best for monitoring training loads for fitness. On-feet sRPE >1500AU per week appears necessary to maximise fitness gains. Whilst on-feet loads of up to 3000AU may be tolerated over short periods, training load >2000AU over long periods are unnecessary, particularly for junior and sub-elite athletes. A combination of internal and external load measures appears valuable when considering both performance and injury. Optimal loads for both injury reduction and fitness gains appear to exist and are not mutually exclusive. Practitioners should use a combination of internal and external load measures, aiming to reduce the occurrence of training stress balance >200% and weekly spikes in load (>10%). sRPE should be greater than 1500AU per week of on-feet training whilst loads significantly >2000AU per week should be limited to short, heavy loading periods.
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