SEASON kick off is one of the most highly anticipated days on every NRL fans’ calendar but there’s something even more juicy about Thursday night’s clash between Parramatta and the Broncos.

As a former Olympic sprinter I love watching rugby league speed demons in full flight and in the opening game two of the NRL’s top five fastest men clash horns in what shapes as an epic duel.

Whatever you do don’t blink because you may just miss the Broncos’ new recruit James Roberts in a blazing foot race with Parramatta’s Michael Jennings, both set to battle it out on edges of Pirtek Stadium.

Ready for some LIVE NRL action? Join Matt Shirvington, Greg Alexander and Gorden Tallis as they combine for pre and post game coverage on Fox NRL Thursday.

Round 19

It’s not unique to have two players with speed to burn going head-to-head. But this is the first game of the season and these two athletes — I use that term with intent — are not just on the field at the same time in differing positions, they are literally face-to-face, pace-to-pace.

Couple that with the fact both players are at new clubs and neither will want to come off second best.

This blistering match up inspired me to look across the game and highlight the elite when it comes to the speedsters in the first grade competition.

This is always a contentious issue and something that often draws various and passionate opinion.

This is my top five, not a pure pace-race but more a cross-section of the game’s top runners. I have sourced their PBs over 100 metres and over 40 metres by talking to various sources close to them.

This week on the Market Watch podcast South Sydney skipper Greg Inglis joins Ben Ikin, Ben Glover and Nathan Ryan to share his thoughts on the future of their halves and rumours Cooper Cronk could be heading to Redfern.

1. JAMES ROBERTS

James Roberts at Broncos training. Source: News Corp Australia

100m time: 11 secs; 40m time: 4.7 secs

Eleven seconds? No way! Too slow right? It was the only time I could find.

But here’s the thing ... he ran it when he was 14 years old. Considering this he deserves to be at the top.

Suffice to say he has become a whole lot quicker in his late teens and early 20s.

In my opinion he is hands down the fastest player in the game right now, both over a longer distance and with almost unequalled acceleration.

I watched his 40m time trial in the Broncos pre-season and haven’t seen a player get off the mark quicker.

His first three steps are phenomenally fast.

2. MARIKA KOROIBETE

100m time: 10.7 secs; 40m time: 4.8 secs

Give Koroibete space and you may pay the price on the scoreboard.

Marika has the fastest 100m time on the list but trainers that have worked with him say that it doesn’t do his real speed justice.

Roosters’ speed conditioning coach Hayden Knowles worked with Koroibete at the Wests Tigers in 2013.

“Over the years I’ve worked with unbelievable athletes in the NRL but one of the most enjoyable was Marika. He was just so raw, so fast, so natural,” he said.

Marika Koroibete of the Storm gets to the ball. Source: Getty Images

Knowles jokes: “I don’t think Fiji have had an Olympic 100m rep but he has the genetics. Had he become a student of track like he has league he could have been a very competitive runner.”

Having seen Koroibete in the flesh speed down the field, his time of 10.7 falls short of his true sprint capabilities.

3. GIDEON GELA-MOSBY

100m time: 10.9 secs; 40m time: fastest at Cowboys but time not available

One of the game’s young guns in the NYC competition set a new try-scoring record with 39 tries in 2015, 10 more than the previous all-time record.

Most of those four-pointers were a combination of his ability with the ball and Gela-Mosby’s freakish foot speed.

Paul Di Bella, Olympic sprinter and Cowboys speed coach said of Mosby: “He’s definitely the fastest player at the Cowboys,” with Justin O’Neill and Michael Morgan a close second.

“Had Gideon pursued a career in track and field, he has the physical characteristics of an international sprinter,” Di Bella said.

4. MICHAEL JENNINGS

New Parramatta Eels signing Michael Jennings all smiles. Source: News Corp Australia

100m time: 11.2 secs, 40m time: 4.7 secs

Jennings is equally as fast as Roberts over the 40m but not quite on par when it comes to maintaining top speed.

It would be splitting hairs comparing overall top speed because the real benefit of Jennings’ pace comes when he is threatening the line with ball in hand.

“Michael is best where his acceleration and footwork creates fear in opposition,” said Knowles, Jennings’ sprint coach at the Roosters last season.

“There’s not much an NRL player fears but being burnt with speed is one of them.”

His stop-start acceleration and change of direction can leave even the smartest defender feeling dizzy and a metre or two behind when he really steps on the gas.

5. JAMES TEDESCO

100m time: 11.5 secs, 40m time: 4.9 secs

James Tedesco gets into space. Source: News Corp Australia

Tedesco is an odd addition to this list because he’s clearly not the fastest player in the game and in fact admits his 100m time is “nothing too outrageous”.

But what we see from him, aside from a couple of very respectable times, is enough change of pace coupled with an unorthodox running style that keeps the opposition guessing.

ONE TO WATCH: JOSH ADDO-CARR

Too many people have come up to me recently to talk about the exploits of this young man and I didn’t want to leave him off this list completely.

After watching the Wests Tigers’ new recruit at the Auckland Nines, I can see the hype is completely justified.

He is fast.

Not just, “he’s got a bit of pace” kind of fast, he’s going to be blowing away opponents for years to come.

In fact there was one instance at the Nines where his pace worked against him.

In one of the pool rounds he came from the other side of the field travelled 50 or so metres, in cover defence and was still moving so fast he blew past the ball-carrier before he had time to decelerate, such is his raw speed.

No doubt once he learns to harness his talent, we will see Addo-Carr bolting down the sidelines for the Tigers at NRL level this season.