This Chase Down From James Roberts Is Still One Of The Greatest Of All-Time

He's not called "Jimmy The Jet" for no reason.

When you revisit iconic moments like this, it's no wonder why James Roberts is widely regarded as one of the quickest rugby league players of all-time.

The incident we're talking about comes from the 2011/12 NRL season in the game between South Sydney Rabbitohs and the New Zealand Warriors.

Instagram/@jamesroberts01

With 18 minutes gone in the first half and the score locked at 0-0, the Warriors were pinned back on their own try line with the Rabbitohs in possession of the ball.

But a clever intercept from Krisnan Inu turned the game on its head in the blink-of-an-eye.

With green grass and no Souths players ahead of him, the Warriors winger took a quick glance over his shoulder before sprinting down the field.

He looked destined to score the first try of the match.

But unfortunately for Inu, there was a relatively-unknown teenager playing for the Bunnies that day and his name was James Roberts.

The try line was in sight, but Roberts gave chase.

Just as Inu reached the half-way line, the rapid Roberts somehow emerged at the bottom of the picture after making up an insane amount of ground in such a short space of time.

Incredibly, despite being one of the furthest players away from the original intercept, Roberts galloped past his own teammates while chasing down his opposite number - Bunnies legend John Sutton being one of them.

Inu got closer and closer to the try line, but in the split second that the camera changed angles, Roberts had caught up to his man and made a last-ditch tackle to stop Inu on the line.

Probably on his last legs after sprinting 100 metres at full pelt, Roberts did incredibly well to wrap up his opponent just inches before he could score.

And as if the try-saving tackle wasn't enough, replays after the magic moment showed just how fast Roberts was travelling during the full-field chase down.

In his decade-long NRL career, Roberts has scored many memorable tries himself including a few notable intercepts.

But this time, all the way back in 2011, it was Roberts doing the chasing down on a runaway player - and there was only ever going to be one winner.

Topics: Rugby League, nrl, Australia, , rugby league news

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry