AFL’s quickest players revealed with Toby Greene and Jarman Impey at top of list
WHO is your team’s quickest player? And how do they compare to gold medallist Usain Bolt? These exclusive stats reveal all, with some surprising results.
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A PAIR of forwards from Greater Western Sydney and Port Adelaide are officially the fastest players in the AFL but preliminary finalist Richmond can lay claim to having the most number of speedsters of any club.
Exclusive player Super Tracker GPS statistics from Champion Data show GWS’s Toby Greene reached a speed of 35.3kmh during his side’s semi-final against West Coast on Saturday night.
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The effort equalled that of Port Adelaide’s Jarman Impey, who also clocked 35.3kmh against the Eagles in an elimination final the previous week.
The AFL record speed is well short of eight-time Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Usain Bolt — who reached as much as 44.72kmh during a 100m sprint at World Championships in 2009 — but is almost twice as quick as the average consumer treadmill which clock out at 18kmh.
Greene and Impey are two of only three AFL players to hit 35kmh this season, joined by St Kilda’s Seb Ross and Richmond’s Connor Menadue at the top of the leaderboard.
Including Menadue, Richmond has five representatives among the 17 players to hit maximum speeds of 34.6kmh or more this season, with Shai Bolton (34.8kmh), Jason Castagna (34.8kmh), Daniel Rioli (34.6kmh) and Alex Rance (34.6kmh) also featuring.
Speed has been a key to Richmond’s resurgence this season, with the small forward ‘mosquito fleet’ — made up of Castagna, Rioli, Dan Butler and at times Bolton — well known for their quick feet and the pressure they apply on opposition defences.
“We have a nice complement of inside players …. and some really classy outside young players that are starting to (blossom),” Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said in June.
“We probably haven’t had the leg speed (in the past), but we brought some players in.
“When you’ve got guys like (Daniel) Rioli, (Shai) Bolton, (Jason) Castagna and (Dan) Butler; knowing they’re coming, sometimes it puts a bit of pressure on the opposition, so they probably get rid of it half a step earlier.”
The surprise among the fastest players list is Geelong veteran Harry Taylor, who reached 34.6kmh against Essendon in Round 8, just weeks before his 31st birthday.
Developing Brisbane key forward Eric Hipwood, who stands 202cm tall, is also a surprisingly quick mover, reaching 34.6kmh against Geelong in Round 16.
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