Young races into top spot on Telstra Tracker

Newcastle winger Dominic Young earned a place among the NRL's elite group of speedsters last weekend after being clocked on the Telstra Tracker at a remarkable 38 kilometres per hour in Saturday's loss to the Sea Eagles. 

It puts the 20-year-old alongside the likes of Bulldogs flyer Josh Addo-Carr and Manly's Jason Saab as players who have been clocked at 38 km/h or higher in recent seasons.

Young's effort was a full 1.5 km/h faster than the next best player in round 18, North Queensland's Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, and formed part of a dominant showing from Newcastle in the data measured by the Tracker. 

Days after backing up from the Origin decider Dane Gagai led the way when it came to distance travelled at high speeds, managing 277 metres above 25 km/h and 935 metres above 20 km/h, which were both the best achieved last weekend. 

Knights half Adam Clune, who has hit impressive numbers all year when it comes to total distance travelled in games, edged past Roosters playmaker Sam Walker with 9,509 metres to register the biggest haul of the round.

Brisbane players also featured heavily across the different categories in their victory over the Titans, with Ezra Mam the round's third best in both total distance covered (9,202 metres) and distance travelled above 20 km/h (746 metres).

His teammates Jordan Pereira and Kotoni Staggs ranked in the top five for high speed distance and sprint distance respectively as well. 

Telstra Tracker: Round 18

Maximum Velocity
Dominic Young (Knights) — 38 km/h
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (Cowboys) — 36.5 km/h
Alex Johnston (Rabbitohs) — 34.9 km/h
Xavier Savage (Raiders) — 34.4 km/h
Peta Hiku (Cowboys) — 34.1 km/h

Total Distance
Adam Clune (Knights) — 9,509 metres
Sam Walker (Roosters) — 9,506 metres
Ezra Mam (Broncos) — 9,202 metres
Harry Grant (Storm) — 9,188 metres
Jack Wighton — 9,120 metres

High Speed Distance (metres > 20 km/h)
Dane Gagai (Knights) — 935 metres
Jordan Pereira (Broncos) — 804 metres
Ezra Mam (Broncos) — 746 metres
Cody Ramsey (Dragons) — 741 metres
Kotoni Staggs (Broncos) — 731 metres

Sprint Distance (metres > 25 km/h)
Dane Gagai (Knights) — 277 metres
Reece Walsh (Warriors) — 275 metres
Sosefo Fifita (Titans) — 271 metres
Cody Ramsey (Dragons) — 265 metres
Kotoni Staggs (Broncos) — 264 metres