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advertisement.(^56) DAILY MIRROR SATURDAY 17.08.2019
BY GARETH WALKER
WHEN Warrington hooker Daryl
Clark sprinted back to make a try-
saving tackle at Hull KR in April,
he hit a top speed faster than any
recorded in the last Premier
League or NFL seasons.
England international Clark (right)
clocked 35.82 kilometres per hour in
chasing down Craig Hall.
And that eclipsed the 35.35kph
reached by Timothy Fosu-Mensah,
who was on loan at Fulham from
Manchester United, and 35.55kph by
San Francisco 49ers’ Matt Breida.
It is just one insight into the physical
prowess of Super League’s top stars
provided by Warrington’s head of
performance Ade Gardner.
Gardner says Clark’s top speed – the
fastest at the club in 2019 – was made
all the more remarkable by the
circumstances in which he did it.
Gardner explained: “It was 24
minutes into the match and Daryl had
already completed 16 tackles, had five
carries and covered 2,846 metres.
“Not only that, but it was on Easter
Monday, just three days after we’d
played against Salford.
“We have fantastic athletes in our
sport capable of these amazing feats
and we want to try to give people
some context over who they are and
what they’re capable of doing.” Among
THE FAST
SHOW
Wolves star Clark
clocked a speed
of 35.82kph in
April... quicker
than anything
in football or
NFL this year
Timothy
Fosu-Mensah
35.35kph
Matt
Breida
35.55kph
RUGBY LEAGUE
the other impressive
facts on Gardner’s stats
sheet was that the fourth-
fastest speed recorded by
a Wolves player this season
- calculated using GPS
systems in the players’ shirts - came from giant forward
Ben Murdoch-Masila.
He clocked 34.2kph against
Hull FC, which would have
ranked in the top 10 Premier
League sprints in 2018-19 –
despite the fact Murdoch-Masila
weighs in at more than 18st.
Gardner said: “Ben had some sprint
training when he was younger but
still, that just shows he is an
unbelievable athlete.”
The club ran out of weights to put
on the bar when fellow forward
Sitaleki Akauola reached 300kgs dead
lifting – and he is one of the fastest
accelerators at the Wolves over 10m.
Seventeen-year-old full-back Josh
Thewlis produced match intensity
stats that were on a par with the
lauded State of Origin matches on his
Super League debut this year.
Gardner added: “This isn’t just our
players, it’s all across Super League.
“We’d encourage the rest of the
league to release their stats because
we’re really proud of the lads and the
athletes that they are.”
IN THE RUNNING Johnson has
put Salford back in contentionBY GARETH WALKER
SALFORD’s lucky charm
Josh Johnson wants to
continue his unbeaten run
as the race for the play-offs
hots up.
Coach Ian Watson
(below) has seen his Red
Devils side win all four
matches since prop
Johnson joined from
Barrow Raiders,
pushing them into the
top five.
Victory at Hull FC
tonight will move them
a step closer to
confirming a play-off
place – and Johnson is
keen to remain on a
winning side.
The 25-year-old said: “The
things that Watto is putting
into us at training, everyone is
buying into.
“I don’t see why we can’t
stay in that top
five and then
who knows
what we
can do.
I’m just
enjoying
the ride
and
hopefully I
can keep playing
my part in these wins.”
Catalans Dragons need a
victory over bottom club
London to keep their own
top-five hopes alive as their
infuriating inconsistency
continues.
The Broncos won 30-12 in
Perpignan in June and are
fighting for their Super
League lives with four
matches remaining.
Catalans are still without
Sam Tomkins, Micky
McIlorum, Fouad Yaha, Sam
Moa, Jason Baitieri and Jodie
Broughton.
Rob Butler is suspended for
London so Matty Gee returns
to the squad.Johnson
has luck
of Devils
at top
hen
wsI
liHull FC v Salford 5pm
Catalans v London 5pm