The heavyweight endurance battle between Eagle Andrew Gaff and Hawk Tom Scully might finally have run its race.
Scully still boasts the top five distances covered in a single game (peaking at 18.9km) since they went on public record from 2017, as well as six of the best seven and eight of the top 12.
All of those were from three years ago, when he was still a Giant, before the 29-year-old Telstra Tracker legend's serious ankle injury in early 2018.
Gaff's always been thereabouts with Scully in a range of in-game measures, but he's now the AFL's endurance king, albeit with a familiar challenger.
Swan Ryan Clarke's extraordinary 15km effort against Gold Coast in round seven – remembering matches were far shorter this season – was the most in any single contest.
However, Gaff's per-game average of 13.3km blew the competition away, and was even superior to the best single-match tallies of three clubs this year.
There were even outings where the 28-year-old midfielder never left the field.
Clarke, whose 17.3km figure in round nine last season was the 14th-most on record, was his closest competitor with an average of 12.8km.
Clarke's Sydney teammate, No.4 draft pick Dylan Stephens (12.5km average), looms as Scully's and Gaff's heir apparent, after setting three of the Swans' top four single-game efforts in 2020.
Geelong forward Gryan Miers (12.6km), and Scully, Blue Sam Walsh, Essendon's Will Snelling and Giant Tim Taranto were next-best on 12.4km.
Adelaide workhorse Ben Keays also warrants a mention as one of only five footballers, including Clarke, Stephens, Miers and Gaff, to run at least 14km in a match this season.
Top-five most distance covered in a game in 2020
Andrew Gaff, 14.5km v St Kilda, round 17
Andrew Gaff, 14.2km v Geelong, round 9
Andrew Gaff, 13.7km v Richmond, round 14
Andrew Gaff, 13.7km v Sydney, round 5
Andrew Gaff, 13.7km v GWS Giants, round 13
Top-five most distance covered per game in 2020
Andrew Gaff, 13.3km
Jarrod Brander, 11.5km
Tim Kelly, 11.5km
Liam Duggan, 11.4km
Jackson Nelson, 11.3km
