NRL Fastest Man 2022: Josh Addo-Carr reclaims No.1 tag

Only days after it was revealed his tag as NRL Fastest Man was under threat, Bulldogs winger Josh Addo-Carr hit the afterburners to show his younger rivals he hasn’t lost his pace.

Sea Eagles speedster Jason Saab. Picture: NRL Photos

Canterbury speedster Josh Addo-Carr has reclaimed his mantle as the fastest player in rugby league after hitting a top speed of 38.7km/h against the Gold Coast on Sunday.

After a chaotic 48 hours for the Bulldogs favourite – which included a hat-trick against Titans, bottle throwing controversy, even links to his old club Melbourne – the Foxx is now once again the code’s quickest.

According to official Telstra Tracker data provided by the NRL, Addo-Carr moved faster than any other player this season in his side’s 36-26 win at CommBank Stadium.

While the NRL will not officially release its new Top 10 until Wednesday, it’s understood the 26-year-old Indigenous livewire has reclaimed top spot with a season record of 38.7km/h.

Which is timely.

And once again, has a host of the game’s young quicks such as Jason Saab, Dom Young and Xavier Savage trying to chase him down.

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Josh Addo-Carr was back to his blistering best against the Titans. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Despite spending five years as the undeniable NRL Sprint King, Addo-Carr’s reign has been under threat in 2022 after his switch to Belmore resulting in limited opportunities involving clear air.

As revealed by The Daily Telegraph last Wednesday, Addo-Carr headed into the Titans clash sitting seventh on the Telstra Tracker list with a top speed for the year of 36.1km/h.

This put him behind a host of young speedsters including Manly winger Saab and Penrith centre Stephen Crichton, who were tied for first on 37.4km/hr.

Incredibly, the 26-year-old wasn’t even the fastest player at his own club – with recently departed fullback Matt Dufty boasting the top Bulldogs speed, 36.6km/h.

Others in contention for the Fastest Man tag were Knights winger Young (37.3) and Raiders livewire Savage (36.7), then Dufty and Knights superstar Kalyn Ponga (36.6).

Yet Addo-Carr?

In a season where he had been dumped from the NSW Origin side, and part of a Canterbury side struggling for points, the Doggies winger also spent much of last week rehabbing an ankle injury bad enough to have some whispering his season could be over.

Jason Saab held the fastest time of 2022 until Addo-Carr hit top gear last weekend.

Yet still, the Foxx went and claimed his mantle back on Sunday with an outstanding performance where he not only scored three tries but ran for a staggering 300m.

The effort came on the same day Sydney sprint coach Roger Fabri suggested Saab was not only the quickest in the game, but the most likely the to reach speeds of almost 40km/h.

Currently, Foxx holds the Telstra Tracker record, with 38.5km/hr.

First introduced during the 2017 State of Origin series, the Telstra Tracker is considered rugby league’s most reliable tool for sorting the fastest man title.

In its first winter, Addo-Carr ran his way into top spot with a time of 36.3km/h while playing for NSW. Two years later, he would then double down and record what remains the game’s top speed of 38.5km/h, against North Queensland.