The Speed myth

[Demonland 74,181]

For comparison, here are the 2020 results for the other clubs. 

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Chayce Jones, 35.1km/h v Hawthorn, round 15
Lachlan Murphy, 33.4 km/h v North Melbourne, round 9
Jake Kelly, 32.2km/h v Geelong, round 13
Tyson Stengle, 32.2km/h v North Melbourne, round 9
Luke Brown, 32.1km/h v North Melbourne, round 9

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020
Chayce Jones, 35.1km/h v Hawthorn, round 15
Lachlan Murphy, 33.4 km/h v North Melbourne, round 9
Lachlan Murphy, 33.3 km/h v Geelong, round 13
Chayce Jones, 33km/h v St Kilda, round 7
Jake Kelly, 32.2km/h v Geelong, round 13

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Charlie Cameron, 35.6km/h v Essendon, round 9
Eric Hipwood, 33.9km/h v Sydney, round 17
Brandon Starcevich, 33.7km/h v Hawthorn, round 1
Jarrod Berry, 33.7km/h v Western Bulldogs, round 11
Lachie Neale, 32km/h v Essendon, round 9

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020
Charlie Cameron, 35.6km/h v Essendon, round 9
Eric Hipwood, 33.9km/h v Sydney, round 17
Brandon Starcevich, 33.7km/h v Hawthorn, round 1
Jarrod Berry, 33.7km/h v Western Bulldogs, round 11
Charlie Cameron, 33.6km/h v Gold Coast, round 16

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Eddie Betts, 33.9km/h v Collingwood, round 14
Mitch McGovern, 33.6km/h v Greater Western Sydney, round 15
Liam Jones, 33.6km/h v Gold Coast, round 13
Jack Newnes, 33.4km/h v Greater Western Sydney, round 15
Matthew Cottrell, 33.1km/h v Greater Western Sydney, round 15

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020
Eddie Betts, 33.9km/h v Collingwood, round 14
Mitch McGovern, 33.6km/h v Greater Western Sydney, round 15
Liam Jones, 33.6km/h v Gold Coast, round 13
Jack Newnes, 33.4km/h v Greater Western Sydney, round 15
Matthew Cottrell, 33.1km/h v Greater Western Sydney, round 15

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Will Hoskin-Elliott, 34km/h v Gold Coast, round 17
John Noble, 33.8km/h v St Kilda, round 3
Jamie Elliott, 33.7km/h v Western Bulldogs, round 1
Jaidyn Stephenson, 33.2km/h v West Coast, round 8
Jeremy Howe, 33.2km/h v Western Bulldogs, round 1

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020
Will Hoskin-Elliott, 34km/h v Gold Coast, round 17
John Noble, 33.8km/h v St Kilda, round 3
Jamie Elliott, 33.7km/h v Western Bulldogs, round 1
Jaidyn Stephenson, 33.2km/h v West Coast, round 8
Jeremy Howe, 33.2km/h v Western Bulldogs, round 1

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Adam Saad, 34.1km/h v Sydney, round 2
Brayden Ham, 33.6km/h v Richmond, round 13
Matt Guelfi, 33km/h v St Kilda, round 12
Orazio Fantasia, 32.9km/h v Fremantle, round 1
Conor McKenna, 32.7km/h v North Melbourne, round 6

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020
Adam Saad, 34.1km/h v Sydney, round 2
Brayden Ham, 33.6km/h v Richmond, round 13
Adam Saad, 33.1km/h v Fremantle, round 1
Matt Guelfi, 33km/h v St Kilda, round 12
Adam Saad, 32.9km/h v GWS Giants, round 10

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Brandon Matera, 34km/h v Collingwood, round 9
Michael Frederick, 33.8km/h v Western Bulldogs, round 18
Andrew Brayshaw, 33.1km/h v Western Bulldogs, round 18
Mitch Crowden, 32.9km/h v Melbourne, round 16
Luke Ryan, 32.9km/h v Essendon, round 1

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020
Brandon Matera, 34km/h v Collingwood, round 9
Michael Frederick, 33.8km/h v Western Bulldogs, round 18
Michael Frederick, 33.1km/h v Melbourne, round 16
Andrew Brayshaw, 33.1km/h v Western Bulldogs, round 18
Mitch Crowden, 32.9km/h v Melbourne, round 16

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Gary Rohan, 35.2km/h v Sydney, round 18
Zach Tuohy, 34.5km/h v Collingwood, round 7
Tom Stewart, 33.4km/h v St Kilda, round 11
Brandan Parfitt, 32.8km/h v West Coast, round 9
Brad Close, 32.8km/h v Adelaide, round 13

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020
Gary Rohan, 35.2km/h v Sydney, round 18
Gary Rohan, 35km/h v Collingwood, round 7
Gary Rohan, 34.7km/h v Fremantle, round 8
Gary Rohan, 34.7km/h v St Kilda, round 11
Zach Tuohy, 34.5km/h v Collingwood, round 7

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Lachie Weller, 35km/h v St Kilda, round 10
Izak Rankine, 34.8km/h v Essendon, round 11
Josh Corbett, 34.2km/h v Hawthorn, round 18
Ben King, 33.8km/h v North Melbourne, round 14
Connor Budarick, 33.7km/h v Port Adelaide, round 1

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020
Lachie Weller, 35km/h v St Kilda, round 10
Izak Rankine, 34.8km/h v Essendon, round 11
Josh Corbett, 34.2km/h v Hawthorn, round 18
Ben King, 33.8km/h v North Melbourne, round 14
Connor Budarick, 33.7km/h v Port Adelaide, round 1

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Lachie Ash, 35.6km/h v Essendon, round 10
Aidan Corr, 34.1km/h v Gold Coast, round 9
Bobby Hill, 34km/h v Carlton, round 15
Isaac Cumming, 33.7km/h v North Melbourne, round 2
Jeremy Cameron, 33.7km/h v Gold Coast, round 9

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020
Lachie Ash, 35.6km/h v Essendon, round 10
Aidan Corr, 34.1km/h v Gold Coast, round 9
Bobby Hill, 34km/h v Carlton, round 15
Bobby Hill, 33.8km/h v Adelaide, round 16
Isaac Cumming, 33.7km/h v North Melbourne, round 2

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Jarman Impey, 34.2km/h v West Coast, round 12
Oliver Hanrahan , 33.1km/h v North Melbourne, round 4
Paul Puopolo, 32.9km/h v Western Bulldogs, round 17
Sam Frost, 32.0km/h v Sydney, round 8
Tom Scully, 32.0km/h v Richmond, round 3

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020    
Jarman Impey, 34.2km/h v West Coast, round 12
Oliver Hanrahan , 33.1km/h v North Melbourne, round 4
Oliver Hanrahan , 32.9km/h v Port Adelaide, round 13
Paul Puopolo, 32.9km/h v Western Bulldogs, round 17
Paul Puopolo, 32.8km/h v Gold Coast, round 18

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Christian Salem, 34.8km/h v Sydney, round 15
Michael Hibberd, 34.6km/h v Collingwood, round 12
Aaron vandenBerg, 34.3km/h v Fremantle, round 16
Kysaiah Pickett , 34.2km/h v Brisbane, round 8
James Harmes, 33.9km/h v Collingwood, round 12

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020    
Christian Salem, 34.8km/h v Sydney, round 15
Michael Hibberd, 34.6km/h v Collingwood, round 12
Aaron vandenBerg, 34.3km/h v Fremantle, round 16
Kysaiah Pickett , 34.2km/h v Brisbane, round 8
James Harmes, 33.9km/h v Collingwood, round 12

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Marley Williams, 34.0km/h v Hawthorn, round 4
Jamie Macmillan, 33.1km/h v North Melbourne, round 1
Tarryn Thomas, 32.9km/h v Hawthorn, round 4
Cameron Zurhaar, 32.8km/h v St Kilda, round 1
Shaun Atley, 32.8km/h v Fremantle, round 17

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020    
Marley Williams, 34.0km/h v Hawthorn, round 4
Jamie Macmillan, 33.1km/h v North Melbourne, round 1
Tarryn Thomas, 32.9km/h v Hawthorn, round 4
Cameron Zurhaar, 32.8km/h v St Kilda, round 1
Shaun Atley, 32.8km/h v Fremantle, round 17

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Trent McKenzie, 36.4km/h v Gold Coast, round 1
Zak Butters, 33.9km/h v Gold Coast, round 1
Ryan Burton, 33.3km/h v Gold Coast, round 1
Tom Jonas, 33.0km/h v Geelong, round 12
Kane Farrell, 33.0km/h v GWS, round 6

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020    
Trent McKenzie, 36.4km/h v Gold Coast, round 1
Zak Butters, 33.9km/h v Gold Coast, round 1
Ryan Burton, 33.3km/h v Gold Coast, round 1
Tom Jonas, 33.0km/h v Geelong, round 12
Kane Farrell, 33.0km/h v GWS, round 6

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Jack Graham, 34.2 km/h v Adelaide, round 18
Oleg Markov, 33.9 km/h v Essendon, round 13
Noah Balta, 33.9 km/h v Geelong, round 17
Marlion Pickett, 33.4 km/h v Geelong, round 17
Shai Bolton, 33.1 km/h v St Kilda, round 4

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020    
Jack Graham, 34.2 km/h v Adelaide, round 18
Oleg Markov, 33.9 km/h v Essendon, round 13
Noah Balta, 33.9 km/h v Geelong, round 17
Marlion Pickett, 33.4 km/h v Geelong, round 17
Marlion Pickett, 33.4 km/h v Western Bulldogs, round 9

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Bradley Hill, 36.6km/h v Richmond, round 4
Dean Kent, 34.4km/h v Carlton, round 5
Dougal Howard, 34.2km/h v GWS, round 18
Dan Butler, 33.8km/h v Collingwood, round 3
Max King, 33.7km/h v North Melbourne, round 1

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020    
Bradley Hill, 36.6km/h v Richmond, round 4
Dean Kent, 34.4km/h v Carlton, round 5
Dougal Howard, 34.2km/h v GWS, round 18
Dan Butler, 33.8km/h v Collingwood, round 3
Max King, 33.7km/h v North Melbourne, round 1

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Will Hayward, 34.5km/h v Brisbane, round 17
Nick Blakey, 34.1km/h v Richmond, round 6
Robbie Fox, 33.4km/h v Carlton, round 16
Harry Cunningham, 33.1km/h v Brisbane, round 17
James Bell, 32.7km/h v St Kilda, round 9

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020    
Will Hayward, 34.5km/h v Brisbane, round 17
Nick Blakey, 34.1km/h v Richmond, round 6
Will Hayward, 33.5km/h v St Kilda, round 9
Robbie Fox, 33.4km/h v Carlton, round 16
Will Hayward, 33.1km/h v North Melbourne, round 3

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Jack Petruccelle, 33.6km/h v Melbourne, round 1
Elliot Yeo, 33.4km/h v Gold Coast, round 2
Jamaine Jones, 33.4km/h v West Coast, round 5
Liam Ryan, 33.2km/h v North Melbourne, round 18
Brad Sheppard, 33.0km/h v Brisbane, round 3

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020    
Jack Petruccelle, 33.6km/h v Melbourne, round 1
Elliot Yeo, 33.4km/h v Gold Coast, round 2
Jamaine Jones, 33.4km/h v West Coast, round 5
Liam Ryan, 33.2km/h v North Melbourne, round 18
Liam Ryan, 33.1km/h v St Kilda, round 17 

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Jason Johannisen, 34.1km/h v Carlton, round 6
Laitham Vandermeer, 33.7km/h v Brisbane, round 11        
Alex Keath, 33.4km/h v Adelaide, round 12
Marcus Bontempelli, 33.1km/h v Richmond, round 9
Bailey Smith, 32.7km/h v Sydney, round 4

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020
Jason Johannisen, 34.1km/h v Carlton, round 6
Jason Johannisen, 33.8km/h v Port Adelaide, round 10
Laitham Vandermeer, 33.7km/h v Brisbane, round 11        
Alex Keath, 33.4km/h v Adelaide, round 12
Jason Johannisen, 33.4km/h v Essendon, round 7

[layzie 34,493]

What does this measure? Runs a player makes over a certain distance? Would need to know more but that is still interesting.

I agree speed of ball movement and decision making are the key things required over pure leg speed but we can't rule it out completely as if it's not important at all. Spreading and setting up a zone when we don't have the ball is a crucial part of the game plan so speed is still handy.

[DeeSpencer 26,631]

Richmond have won 2 of the last 3 flags by having more speed all over the ground than any other club.

Players spend 100 minutes running for about 15 touches. Running is pretty much the predominant skill of footy and speed absolutely matters.

But it’s positional and related to footy and has to be trained in to game plans.

As someone said Langdon’s repeat 100m sprints are likely elite.

Petracca’s power over 10 steps is excellent.

Top speeds aren’t that relevant because rarely do guys get to or need to run 50m+ in a straight line to get top speed.

[deanox 10,065]

5 hours ago, Lord Travis said:

...

Average cruising speed is the important stat. It would show players like Langdon excelling as they constantly move at speed to adjust position with hard two way running.

Ah so you must rate ANB?

These stats are from the essendon game but are pretty consistent: ANB is regularly listed in the top 5 on ground for fastest average speed, faster in attack and defence, most distance moved at high speed, number of sprints and repeat sprints.

 

Fwiw I agree with you about these things being more important than top speed, and I'm taking the [censored] RE ANB a bit: this is his strength and why he gets picked, and I don't think he is as bad as others make out, but he doesnt do enough other stuff well enough which is why he is on the fringe.

 

 

[Lord Travis 10,816]

56 minutes ago, deanox said:

Ah so you must rate ANB?

Fwiw I agree with you about these things being more important than top speed, and I'm taking the [censored] RE ANB a bit: this is his strength and why he gets picked, and I don't think he is as bad as others make out, but he doesnt do enough other stuff well enough which is why he is on the fringe.

ANB is depth. He’s not best 22, but he’s better depth than most in the 22-30 bracket on our list. He at least covers ground well and makes the most of his opportunities up forward. Though his ceiling is lower, he’s more reliable than say Hannan, Vanders, Spargo IMO.

Average cruising speed and amount of repeat sprints is important. No point being able to run a million miles an hour if you can only do it once and then you’re gassed. It’s where we should see real improvement from Kozzie in the next year or two as he becomes able to repeat his efforts and get to more contests.

[roy11 4,051]

On 9/26/2020 at 11:53 AM, kallangurdemon said:

interesting how AVB is quicker than Jayden.I should have went to Specsavers .

AVB is the bull, pity more teams don't wear red. 

[Gawndy the Great 9,011]

On 9/26/2020 at 12:12 PM, Age said:

Yes, footspeed really doesn't mean all that much, it is ball movement. 

It's interesting how many on here would view us as slow and unskilful. After we beat GWS in the final round of 2018, Phil Davis commented how quick we moved the ball and how skilled we were. You can't tell me that we have lost heaps of actual pacey and skilful players over the last two years so where has it gone then?

I think it pretty much went out the door once 6-6-6 came in and Goodwin changed our frenetic - chaos style - game plan. As many have stated, its ball movement and spread that creates speed not the players. 

[Cheesy D. Pun 1,765]

On 9/26/2020 at 9:52 AM, buck_nekkid said:

From AFL.com, here are our speedsters for 2020.

Interstingly, many teams that we think are fast are significantly slower than us if you compare results.  It is not speed of player, but speed of ball that counts!

Would these have been your top 5?

Top-five fastest players in 2020
Christian Salem, 34.8km/h v Sydney, round 15
Michael Hibberd, 34.6km/h v Collingwood, round 12
Aaron vandenBerg, 34.3km/h v Fremantle, round 16
Kysaiah Pickett , 34.2km/h v Brisbane, round 8
James Harmes, 33.9km/h v Collingwood, round 12

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020    
Christian Salem, 34.8km/h v Sydney, round 15
Michael Hibberd, 34.6km/h v Collingwood, round 12
Aaron vandenBerg, 34.3km/h v Fremantle, round 16
Kysaiah Pickett , 34.2km/h v Brisbane, round 8
James Harmes, 33.9km/h v Collingwood, round 12

Absolutely agree with this. Recruiting speed for speed's sake is shooting yourself in the foot.

Pressure, decision-making and foot skills are key.

[Flower Magic 776]

On 9/26/2020 at 9:52 AM, buck_nekkid said:

From AFL.com, here are our speedsters for 2020.

Fastest speeds clocked in a game in 2020    
Christian Salem, 34.8km/h v Sydney, round 15
Michael Hibberd, 34.6km/h v Collingwood, round 12
Aaron vandenBerg, 34.3km/h v Fremantle, round 16
Kysaiah Pickett , 34.2km/h v Brisbane, round 8
James Harmes, 33.9km/h v Collingwood, round 12

I call b-s on these results. Salem's speed converts to 10.34sec for 100m. Only a handful of trained Australian sprinters (five to be exact) ran faster than that over 100m in 2019, and only three this year so far. And before you say the above speeds are likely to be over much shorter distances, a 100m sprinter doesn't reach top speed until around 80m into a race. It's just impossible to run the above speeds over a short distance, say 10 metres, from a standing or even a moving start. An AFL footballer in full flow might look fast to us, but only a select few players in the AFL would be able to run under 11 seconds for 100m. 

[Dee-lusional 187]

30 minutes ago, Flower Magic said:

I call b-s on these results. Salem's speed converts to 10.34sec for 100m. Only a handful of trained Australian sprinters (five to be exact) ran faster than that over 100m in 2019, and only three this year so far. And before you say the above speeds are likely to be over much shorter distances, a 100m sprinter doesn't reach top speed until around 80m into a race. It's just impossible to run the above speeds over a short distance, say 10 metres, from a standing or even a moving start. An AFL footballer in full flow might look fast to us, but only a select few players in the AFL would be able to run under 11 seconds for 100m. 

Based on the figures Bradley Hill's equivalent would be 100m in 9.83secs.

Does it take into account movement direction and duration. If you are pushed over or fall from a pack mark you can get to incredible speeds. Have to agree with this one and call b-s  When Bolt broke the 100m record he recorded a top speed of 44.72 km/h between his 60th and 80th meter which he covered in 1.61 seconds.

 

Some AFL guys are quick but not Bolt quick.

Edited September 28, 2020 by Dee-lusional

[Axis of Bob 11,934]

31 minutes ago, Flower Magic said:

I call b-s on these results. Salem's speed converts to 10.34sec for 100m. Only a handful of trained Australian sprinters (five to be exact) ran faster than that over 100m in 2019, and only three this year so far. And before you say the above speeds are likely to be over much shorter distances, a 100m sprinter doesn't reach top speed until around 80m into a race. It's just impossible to run the above speeds over a short distance, say 10 metres, from a standing or even a moving start. An AFL footballer in full flow might look fast to us, but only a select few players in the AFL would be able to run under 11 seconds for 100m. 

A 100m sprint starts the race at rest, rather than at top speed. 

The 100m is the time taken to go from a stationary position to a position 100m away, whilst this measures a split second where the footballer is moving at their fastest.

Usain Bolt hold the top speed record (according to wikipedia) of 44.72 km/h, which was between the 60m and 80m mark of a race, which is significantly faster than Salem! If Bolt ran at 44.72 km/h for the entire race (from 0m to 100m) then he'd have run the race in 8.05 seconds!!

[La Dee-vina Comedia 17,119]

There are plenty of examples on the internet of the difference between data and information. Add this thread to the list.

[Flower Magic 776]

2 hours ago, Axis of Bob said:

A 100m sprint starts the race at rest, rather than at top speed. 

The 100m is the time taken to go from a stationary position to a position 100m away, whilst this measures a split second where the footballer is moving at their fastest.

Usain Bolt hold the top speed record (according to wikipedia) of 44.72 km/h, which was between the 60m and 80m mark of a race, which is significantly faster than Salem! If Bolt ran at 44.72 km/h for the entire race (from 0m to 100m) then he'd have run the race in 8.05 seconds!!

Still b-s I'm afraid, because even when Usain ran the world record, it took him around 25 metres to reach Salem's alleged speed. So this statistic asks us to believe that somehow an AFL footballer, who doesn't look overly quick to me, can run as fast as Usain Bolt is going at 25m into his world record run. I don't think so!

[Axis of Bob 11,934]

21 minutes ago, Flower Magic said:

Still b-s I'm afraid, because even when Usain ran the world record, it took him around 25 metres to reach Salem's alleged speed. So this statistic asks us to believe that somehow an AFL footballer, who doesn't look overly quick to me, can run as fast as Usain Bolt is going at 25m into his world record run. I don't think so!

Here's a good article about Usain Bolt's speed during the Beijing Olympics. https://www.quantamagazine.org/infinite-powers-usain-bolt-and-the-art-of-calculus-20190403/

Because I'm a nerd (and lockdown is clearly doing things to my brain!) I actually tried to fit in Salem's maximum speed with Bolt's maximum speed, then adjusted it to Bolt's Olympic world record speed profile graph (in the article) to see what Salem's typical 100m sprint time would be with that top speed.

FWIW, that top speed is the equivalent of Salem running a 12.30 second 100 metre sprint. That's not bad considering it was with fatigue during a 100 minute long game of football and he has not been training for a sprint event. 

[Flower Magic 776]

39 minutes ago, Axis of Bob said:

FWIW, that top speed is the equivalent of Salem running a 12.30 second 100 metre sprint. That's not bad considering it was with fatigue during a 100 minute long game of football and he has not been training for a sprint event. 

Which reinforces why I don't believe it. Of the players mentioned, I think Pickett would be the quickest off the mark by far. The bigger bodied players would obviously take longer to get their wheels turning.

Edited September 28, 2020 by Flower Magic

[Axis of Bob 11,934]

2 minutes ago, Flower Magic said:

Which reinforces why I don't believe it. Of the players mentioned, I think Pickett would be the quickest off the mark by far. The bigger bodied players would obviously take longer to get their wheels turning.

It was measuring top speed, so how long it takes to reach the top speed is irrelevant. But Salem running a 12.30 second 100m sprint time during a game passes the pub test.

The stats check out, even if they don't really mean much, so trying to convince you to believe meaningless facts is not important to me. But I did enjoy calculating Salem's 100m sprint speed. ?

[monoccular 17,713]

How about comparative best speed of ball movement coast to coast?

Surely that  is really what matters most. 
 

Or movement from centre bounce to open space on half forward line?

[binman 44,767]

Oh wrong thread.

I thought this was Brad Crouch thread. 

[Deemania since 56 6,801]

On 9/26/2020 at 4:22 PM, Lord Travis said:

ANB is depth. He’s not best 22, but he’s better depth than most in the 22-30 bracket on our list. He at least covers ground well and makes the most of his opportunities up forward. Though his ceiling is lower, he’s more reliable than say Hannan, Vanders, Spargo IMO.

Average cruising speed and amount of repeat sprints is important. No point being able to run a million miles an hour if you can only do it once and then you’re gassed. It’s where we should see real improvement from Kozzie in the next year or two as he becomes able to repeat his efforts and get to more contests.

I do admire ANB's running, two-way, one-way and into the fray. His recovery and repeat effort (in running to a contest) stands out across our whole team, nearly matched by that of Hibberd. ANB is in my best 22, but needs improved coaching and assistance with decisions. Often, rather than run to a tackle, he should be running to space to receive. He has many metres on opponents, quite regularly but the psyche of our team still does not recognise the value of this.

[Canary M Burns 50]

In terms of the 100m times, for reference Hunt ran 11.18 in the APS finals his final school year. I think in the pub test, if Salem did hit 34.8km/h v Sydney then you would expect with that he would have reached greater than 33.9km/h at another point in the season. The numbers have a fair margin of error and what is being presented are the outliers over the course of the season.

In the bigger picture the players only do the running that the game plan and specific situations require them to. While not disputing what Dee Spencer said about running being one of the most important elements in footy, there is generally a negative correlation between running distance and winning. I haven't seen anyone look at it, but I wonder if having the highest speeds in a game is the same? 

[Nelo 813]

Top speed isn’t as critical as speed off the mark. Due to congestion you hardly ever see someone have a 40mt run down the wing. That’s what makes Petracca so good, he explodes away from stoppages.