Brisbane Broncos vs. Dolphins: Who owns the fastest backline in Queensland?
The Broncos will field one of the fastest backlines in 2024 despite losing their premier speedster to the Dolphins. We compare the speeds of both backlines using the NRL’s official GPS data.
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The Broncos will unleash one of the fastest backlines in the NRL next season with young gun Deine Mariner set to join forces with Reece Walsh to replace Brisbane’s speed king Herbie Farnworth.
Exclusive NRL GPS data shows Farnworth finished the season as Brisbane’s quickest player, clocking a top speed of 35.64km/h in the Broncos’ charge to this year’s grand final.
Farnworth will link with the Dolphins next season and Brisbane’s expansion rivals will have pace to burn in 2024, with Bulldogs import Jake Averillo (36.07km/h) joining Redcliffe fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (36.68km/h) in the NRL’s 10 top speedsters.
Of the NRL’s 16 fastest players in 2023, three – Farnworth, Averillo and ‘The Hammer’ – will wear Dolphins colours next season, giving coach Wayne Bennett every reason to believe his side can torch rival teams.
But the loss of Farnworth at Red Hill has opened the door for the Broncos to blood a tryscoring sensation who is rated even faster than the British Test ace.
The 20-year-old Mariner is Brisbane’s quickest player in 40m sprint testing.
Throw in Walsh (pictured right), who was ranked by the Telstra Tracker as Brisbane’s second fastest player behind Farnworth at 35.46km/h, and Kotoni Staggs, No.3 at 35.38km/h, and the Broncos could rip teams apart in 2024.
Mariner, who made his NRL debut in 2022, has scored five tries from six top-grade games and is being groomed to replace Dolphins defector Farnworth, with a view to forging a long-term centre pairing with Staggs.
The Brisbane rookie was rated the best centre in the Australian schoolboys system two years ago and is eligible for New Zealand as a product of Auckland’s Marist Saints before being spotted by the Broncos.
Kiwi Test coach Michael Maguire has Mariner on his radar and says he could light up Brisbane’s backline in 2024.
“Deine is an exciting talent,” he said. “He has great balance, he has real speed and he comes off his left or right foot. He works hard on his defence as well so he’s going to be a real weapon for the Broncos next season and that’s a benefit for the Kiwis.
“We’ve earmarked him for a big future in the New Zealand team.”
Upon joining Brisbane last summer from the Warriors, Walsh hired a sprint coach to work on his top-end speed and the GPS data shows it paid dividends, with his acceleration off the mark a feature of the Broncos’ 2023 campaign.
Meanwhile, the Titans have unearthed a genuine speed machine in rookie winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira, who was the seventh fastest man in the NRL at 36.14km/h on his way to 20 tries from 23 games.
Interestingly, Kyle Feldt was the Cowboys’ No.1 speed demon, the 31-year-old veteran clocking 34.45km/h ahead of Valentine Holmes (33.94km/h) and Tom Dearden (33.62km/h).
Originally published as Brisbane Broncos vs. Dolphins: Who owns the fastest backline in Queensland?
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