Rugby league: Melbourne Storm ballboy goes viral after showing impressive pace in Warriors' defeat

A 16-year-old ball boy has gone viral after showing an impressive turn of pace on the sidelines during the Melbourne Storm's heavy thrashing of the New Zealand Warriors on Monday night.

Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes finished a 90-metre counter attack after an unfortunate Ed Kosi spill with the visitor's hot on attack in the seventh minute at AAMI Park.

It was the first of 13 tries for the Storm in the 70-10 mauling, the Warriors' worst ever NRL defeat.

While Hughes coasted in to score, 16-year-old ballboy Robbie Cliff looked to keep up with the Kiwis international as he sprinted down the sideline side by side with Hughes.

"All my mates have been calling me the "world's fastest man", and there's been all the stuff on TikTok and Instagram. It's a bit surreal. I let him [Hughes] catch up to me, but I got him in the end," schoolboy Robbie told the Sydney Morning Herald.

But his father played down his pace.

"When it comes to speed I'd say he's average. He had a 10m head start, and the camera angle was kind to him. It's a great story. Everyone is loving the fact he looked like he was mirroring Jahrome [Hughes] down the sideline," Jason Cliff told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"If I'm being honest, he's actually slower, but you never let the truth get in the way of a good story," Jason added.

"Some of the comments on social media were very good and included the Dolphins picking up on a five-year deal, and, 'Who's that ballboy? He looks like he's 31'. He's only 16."