The fastest man in the NRL for 2023 has been revealed. And it isn’t Josh Addo-Carr.
The Canterbury Bulldogs speedster has haunted countless defences with his incredible pace over the years, earning him a reputation as one of the best wingers in the game.
Yet the Kangaroos star only makes the top five in new data revealed by the Telstra Tracker via News Corp.
In fact, Sharks star Ronaldo Mulitalo takes the top prize, hitting a speed of 37.188km/h this season.
He has beaten Manly’s Jason Saab by just .072km/h, while Parra’s Maika Sivo occupies the final podium spot with a speed of 36.864km/h.
English rugby league star Dominic Young has pipped Addo-Carr to fourth, with his speed of 36.828km/h bettering the Flying Foxx’s speed of 36.756km/h.
Dolphins hero Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow takes sixth, Dally M winner Kalyn Ponga is tenth, while Broncos fullback Reece Walsh rounds out the top 20 with a speed of 35.46km/h.
For context, Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt recorded a top-end speed of 44.72km/h when he set the 100 metre world record in Berlin in 2009.
If Mulitalo, who plays for New Zealand, held his top speed over that same distance, he would clock 9.68 seconds.
New Zealand coach Michael Maguire said: ‘I’m not totally surprised by that figure.
‘His speed is a reflection of his training ethic.
‘He really rips in and he has been born with some handy genetics that gives him the ability to run fast.
It’s one thing to run quick, but you have to utilise it and keep using it in an NRL game and Ronaldo does that.
‘Ronnie’ is athletic but he is a competitor as well. He just loves to win, whether it’s a three-on-three drill at training or an actual NRL game, he likes to compete and that’s what makes him the player that he is.
‘Ronnie has great energy. He is a character, that’s why the boys love playing with him, but he flicks the switch when he knows it’s time to get to work.
‘Unfortunately, he wasn’t eligible for Queensland for State of Origin, but I’m glad he found his way into the New Zealand system.
‘He has great buy-in as a player and throws himself into whatever he does.
