Australia’s fastest sprinter rates Cowboys’ fastest players as Drinkwater named at number one

Champion sprinter Jake Doran has revealed who among the Cowboys squad has the fastest feet, and given Scott Drinkwater a ‘phenomenal’ rap as he prepares for a return at fullback. GET ALL THE DETAILS >>>

THE fastest man in Australia has given the North Queensland Cowboys full marks for their athletic performance after working with the side in order to make them the quickest team off the mark.

Jake Doran, an international level sprinter, took out the national title over 100m in Sydney on Friday, making him the fastest man between two goal-lines in Australia.

But it’s what the gun sprinter has been getting up to in his off-time that should have North Queensland fans salivating.

“We did a good three months work with Val, with Scott Drinkwater, with a lot of the guys that wanted to just come in and develop their speed because I think that was what’s been lacking recently,” Doran said.

Then 19-year old Townsville track star Jake Doran. PICTURE: MATT TAYLOR.

“We see a lot of ex sprint coaches working with a lot of the NRL teams now. And, you know, we pitched it to Toddy [Payten] to just you know – look guys, do you want Paul Di Bella who’s an ex-Olympian and myself to do some work with them and build them up?”

The sessions were born out of a desire to see the Cowboys climb the ladder, but Doran sees some serious contenders for the title of fastest on the field among the playing roster.

“ … we want to see the Cowboys being the fastest team in the league, and they’ve got some really phenomenal athletes. So there’s no reason why that can’t happen.

“ … this is Cowboys country. So we want the Cowboys back on top of the ladder.”

Injury prevention was also a big part of what Doran and Di Bella brought to the table, helping high-flyer Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow recover from, and hopefully prevent, further hamstring injuries.

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow of the Cowboys comes from the field after being injured during the round four NRL match. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

“In the future, if he comes and does some worth with us, we can really hone that ability and make sure that kind of stuff tends to not happen again,” Doran said.

Tabuai-Fidow suffered a contact injury during the Cowboys loss to the Roosters at home on Saturday night, and is expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks.

Peta Hiku swapped in at fullback for the final twenty minutes of that game, but Doran’s evaluation of Scott Drinkwater could tip the odds in his favour for a call-up.

“Drinky was phenomenal with his ability to learn. He developed really quickly.”

Drinkwater hasn’t featured at all for the Cowboys this season, but provided fill-in duties as a fullback for three games last year.

Originally published as Australia’s fastest sprinter rates Cowboys’ fastest players as Drinkwater named at number one