'We need to race': Saab wants top flyers to take on Foxx in 100m dash

Manly speedster Jason Saab has thrown down the gauntlet to Josh Addo-Carr, reigniting calls for a 100-metre rugby league sprint showdown to declare the NRL's fastest man once and for all.

Perhaps inspired by famous fan "Harry" challenging teammate Tom Trbojevic to tear up and down the Manly Corso, Saab says there's only one way to crown the game's ultimate speed king.

With all 16 clubs arriving in Brisbane for Magic Round this weekend, it's understood NRL CEO Andrew Abdo was receptive to the idea of a 100-metre dash, similar to the sponsored AFL event each grand final day.

Addo-Carr remains the fastest rugby league player recorded during a game after the Storm star was clocked at a blistering 38.5km/h in a 2019 clash against North Queensland.

But Saab has proved his most consistent challenger this season with Telstra Tracker data showing Addo-Carr shades him by just 0.1 of a second when their fastest on-field, in-game times are compared.

An eight-man final field of the NRL speedster based on GPS times this season would feature usual suspects Addo-Carr, Saab and Brisbane pair Xavier Coates and Herbie Farnworth, who have dominated Telstra Tracker's maximum velocity measure each weekend.

Right in the thick of things too though is 107-kilo Bulldogs enforcer Jack Hetherington, who clocked an impressive 36.1km/h against Melbourne last month to make him the fifth-fastest player this season.

Were Hetherington unable to replicate that impressive turn of speed for a foot race, Canterbury teammates Dallin Watere-Zelezniak and Nick Cotric would be next up based on 2021 speed dials – both registering top speeds of 35.8km/h in that same Storm game.

Saab took flight once more in last week's win over the Warriors and is as keen as anyone to know just how quick he and his NRL rivals can move.

"I’ve never been measured over 100 metres, but I’d love to," Saab said.

"I know there’s always been talk about the need to have a 100-metre race in the off-season, and I’m all for that. I’d love that and it’d be awesome.

"But it’s almost impossible to do nowadays with the way the game is and people’s injuries, so you can’t do it."

Asked could he match Addo-Carr for pace: "Foxx is quick. On a track, everyone is different because it’s a different speed.

"There’s only one way to find out – we need to have a race. Foxx is the fastest man at the moment, so until then, I can’t say much."

The likes of South Sydney flyer Alex Johnston, Titans centre Phillip Sami and injured Cowboys gun Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow would also push for a start among the NRL's fastest men.

So too Saab's uncapped Manly teammate Tolutau Koula – who set a new AAGPS 100-metre record in his final year at Newington covering the track in 10.58 seconds.

Footage of Parramatta's Lee Oudenryan taking on Great Britain's Martin "Chariots" Offiah – complete with Ray Warren in commentary – remains a rugby league trainspotter's delight almost 30 years on from that famed foot race at the old Parramatta Stadium.

Newcastle's 1997 grand final hero Darren Albert clocked a whirlwind 10.7 second in a 100-metre sprint televised by The Footy Show, beating home Manly's Andrew Frew.

In more recent times Olympic icon Usain Bolt hosted a cross-code event in 2010 sponsored by Gatorade.

Former Wallabies winger Lachlan Turner claimed the title of Australia's fastest footballer ahead of NRL representatives Jarryd Hayne, Josh Morris, Ben Barba, Nathan Gardner and Greg Inglis.