Renowned Australian sprint coach Roger Fabri has made a big call on the title of โFastest man in the NRLโ while also claiming Josh Addo-Carr has lost none of his pace since moving from Melbourne to Belmore.
According to the Telstra Tracker, Addo-Carr has only recorded the sixth-fastest speed in the NRL this year, but Fabri told the Daily Telegraph that the numbers only tell half the story.
โThose (Telstra) times donโt take the situation into consideration,โ Fabri said.
โThings like whether or not they have the ball, the condition of the field and what stage of the game it was recorded (are ignored).
โBut I think the biggest thing is that (Addo-Carr) just hasnโt had a run long enough for him to reach his maximum speed.
โYou need at least 50 metres to reach maximum velocity, and even then it might not reached if theyโre looking for an offload or changing direction.โ
Though Addo-Carrโs numbers might get a boost after his massive involvement against the Titans on Sunday, Fabri is certain thereโs only one NRL speedster who could touch the magical 40km/h mark.
โ(Jason) Saab is no question the fastest man in the league,โ said Fabri.
โHe hasnโt actually had an opportunity to really open up, but this year heโs already clocked 37.4km/h. Heโs perfectly built for speed.โ
Fabri also said that if anyone was likely to overthrow Saab as the leagueโs optimal pacemaker, the challenge would come from teammate Tolutau Koula, who ran 100m in 10.58 seconds as a 17-year-old.
โ(Koula) has had to put on a lot of weight to play football, so I think he would have lost speed. His body will have to get used to carrying that weight before you see him run times like that again.โ
