Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow v James Roberts: why The Jet won’t race Hammer
He was nicknamed “The Jet” because of his speed, but there’s one young flyer that South Sydney centre James Roberts wouldn’t want to go up against in a foot race.
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Even South Sydney speedster James Roberts admits he wouldn’t want to take on young Cowboys flyer Hamiso “The Hammer” Tabuai-Fidow in a foot race.
The lightning fast North Queenslander caught everyone’s attention at last weekend’s NRL Nines tournament in Perth, showing off his blistering speed to score four incredible tries.
Figures show the 18-year-old can run a 100m sprint in just 10.85 seconds – fast enough to rival some of the NRL’s speed machines like Roberts and Melbourne flyer Josh Addo-Carr.
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At his fastest, Addo-Carr last year ran 10.7 metres per second which equates to 9.35 seconds over 100m. However, the Storm flyer cannot retain his top speed over 100m.
Roberts and Addo-Carr this week came into the Indigenous All Stars camp on the Gold Coast and much of the talk has been about young Tabuai-Fidow.
“I’ve heard about him actually,” Roberts said.
“We were geeing up Foxxy (Josh Addo-Carr) about it.
“It would be interesting to see him and Fox have a race (but) I’ll leave that race to them.
“I can’t be bothered doing that kind of stuff.
“I’ll save it for the field.”
Roberts has been hampered by an Achilles injury for the past two years which has sapped him of his electrifying speed he was once renowned for.
The Rabbitohs centre has been working on improving his speed and acceleration over the off-season in a bid to get back to his scintillating best.
He said the tag of being the fastest man in the league was one he wasn’t worried about having anymore as he looked to play his first full NRL season since 2018.
“I guess you have to back yourself (if you want to be the fastest man in the competition),” he said.
“(But) I’m not really worried about that tag.
“If someone wants to give it to me, I’ll have it.
“I just want to try and play some good footy this year.
“I’m not really worried about seeing who’s the fastest in the league.”
Roberts and Addo-Carr are both looking to ignite the All Stars clash on Saturday with their acceleration and speed.
Originally published as Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow v James Roberts: why The Jet won’t race Hammer