Speed freak Addo-Carr dethroned in Origin III
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The fastest man in the NRL, Storm and Blues flyer Josh Addo-Carr, was incredibly just the 10th-fastest man on show in a gripping Holden State of Origin series decider.
According to Telstra Tracker data, game three featured the highest average intensity of any game in the Holden State of Origin series, with the victorious Blues maintaining a higher work rate in the backs, halves and forwards.
But the biggest surprise was that nine players registered higher top speeds on the night than Addo-Carr, who scorched the turf at 38.6km/h earlier in the season but only hit the 10th top speed in the decider.
Addo-Carr hit a still-pacey 32.0km/h in Origin III but his fellow Blues star Tom Trbojevic topped all-comers, hitting 35.5km/h in his run supporting a long-range Cameron Murray line break.
Murray's 32.9 km/h in the same second-half play was the top speed of any forward on the night and sixth-best overall.
Corey Oates (33.8) was Queensland's best and second overall while Jack Wighton and James Tedesco were equal third with 33.5km/h.
Moses Mbye (33.4), Will Chambers (32.8) and five-eighths James Maloney (32.3) and Corey Norman (32.2) also featured in the top 10.
Oates and Mbye topped the number of sprints in the game, with each registering 40 high speed efforts (runs over 20 km/h).
Recalled Blues halfback Mitchell Pearce was the hardest working player on the field in terms of ground covered, easily topping both total distance covered and average metres per minute during ball-in-play time – even including bench players who played much fewer minutes.
Match Highlights: Blues v Maroons
Pearce's 8.4 km covered edged out opposition halves Corey Norman (8.1km) and Daly Cherry-Evans (8.0km).
It is rare for a player to maintain an intensity over 100 metres per minute at NRL level but for 80 minutes in Origin III, Pearce covered a remarkable 119 metres per minute ahead of the also-impressive Norman (114) and Cherry-Evans (113).
Blues bench forward Dale Finucane also registered 113 m/min in his 39 minutes on field.
