THE AFL has a new running king.
Adelaide wingman Lachie Sholl is eyeing Tom Scully's record as the most dominant runner in a single season after a blistering start to 2021.
Telstra Tracker data shows Sholl has clocked the most kilometres on the ground in all six of his games this year and holds the top three efforts across the competition.
It has the 21-year-old on-track to eclipse Scully's 2017 record (the first year data started) where he covered the most distance on the ground in 19 of his 24 matches for Greater Western Sydney.
|
Season |
Player |
Team |
Matches Ranked #1 runner |
|
2017 |
Tom Scully |
GWS Giants |
19 |
|
2018 |
Andrew Gaff |
West Coast |
13 |
|
2019 |
Ben Brown |
Nth Melb |
14 |
|
2020 |
Andrew Gaff |
West Coast |
15 |
|
2021 |
Lachlan Sholl |
Adelaide Crows |
6 |
Scully holds the all-time single-game record with a whopping 18.9km in the Giants' 2017 preliminary final against Richmond at the MCG.
Sholl's 17.3km in the round four match against North Melbourne – which also saw him join an exclusive group as a two-time NAB AFL Rising Star nominee – is the furthest covered in a single match this season.
Taken at pick No.64 in the 2018 NAB AFL Draft, the Calder Cannons product is enjoying a breakout season, averaging 22 disposals and five inside 50s per game.
Sholl's streak will be threatened most in upcoming games against Carlton (round 15) and Brisbane (round 16) with Blue Sam Walsh and Lion Hugh McCluggage breathing down his neck.
|
Round |
Player |
Position |
Team |
Venue |
Distance (km) |
|
4 |
Lachlan Sholl |
Wing |
Adelaide |
Marvel Stadium |
17.3 |
|
1 |
Lachlan Sholl |
Wing |
Adelaide |
Adelaide Oval |
17.1 |
|
3 |
Lachlan Sholl |
Wing |
Adelaide |
Adelaide Oval |
16.5 |
|
6 |
Hugh McCluggage |
Wing |
Brisbane |
Marvel Stadium |
16.5 |
|
4 |
Sam Walsh |
Mid |
Carlton |
Metricon Stadium |
16.4 |
|
6 |
Matthew Cottrell |
Wing |
Carlton |
Marvel Stadium |
16.4 |
|
4 |
Matthew Cottrell |
Wing |
Carlton |
Metricon Stadium |
16.4 |
|
1 |
Tim Taranto |
Mid |
GWS Giants |
GIANTS Stadium |
16.4 |
|
4 |
Xavier O'Halloran |
Wing |
GWS Giants |
MCG |
16.3 |
|
5 |
Errol Gulden |
Gen Fwd |
Sydney |
SCG |
16.3 |
Meantime, St Kilda forward and newly instated vice-captain Tim Membrey is the surprise holder of the fastest speed across the first six rounds.
Membrey clocked 35.6km/h in the Saints' come-from-behind win over West Coast in round four, ahead of Gary Rohan's 35.4km/h for Geelong in his return from suspension in round five.
Richmond-turned-Gold Coast defender Oleg Markov holds the record since data capture started with 37.4km/h in round two, 2019 as a Tiger.
|
Round |
Player |
Top Speed (KM/H) |
|
4 |
Tim Membrey (STK) |
35.60 |
|
5 |
Gary Rohan (GEEL) |
35.42 |
|
3 |
Travis Colyer (FREM) |
35.39 |
|
1 |
Aiden Bonar (NM) |
35.23 |
|
2 |
Bobby Hill (GWS) |
35.14 |
|
1 |
Joel Hamling (FREM) |
35.06 |
|
3 |
Michael Frederick (FREM) |
35.06 |
|
2 |
Jimmy Webster (STK) |
34.92 |
|
3 |
Nick Hind (ESS) |
34.85 |
|
6 |
Mitch McGovern (CARL) |
34.70 |
Running data also highlights Melbourne's new-found defensive efforts with three of the top five players in the competition for the highest average speed in defence this season.
Tom Sparrow, Alex Neal-Bullen and James Jordon are all above 9.5km/h while Melbourne is in defence.
|
Tom Sparrow |
Melbourne |
10.06km/h |
|
Connor Blakely |
Fremantle |
10.05km/h |
|
Dion Prestia |
Richmond |
9.73km/h |
|
Alex Neal-Bullen |
Melbourne |
9.72km/h |
|
James Jordon |
Melbourne |
9.54km/h |
Sparrow also features in the top five of players in the competition for average speed while their team is in attack, behind North Melbourne pair Aaron Hall and Charlie Lazzaro.
|
Aaron Hall |
North Melbourne |
10.17km/h |
|
Charlie Lazzaro |
North Melbourne |
9.98km/h |
|
Tom Sparrow |
Melbourne |
9.9km/h |
|
Zac Langdon |
West Coast |
9.78km/h |
|
Xavier O'Halloran |
GWS Giants |
9.45km/h |
All data supplied by Champion Data
