GUESS which player has covered the most kilometres in a single game this season.

No, it's not Mark Blicavs. Nor is it Andrew Gaff.

If you had a stab and nominated Melbourne's Alex Neal-Bullen then you would be correct.

The hard-working half-forward covered the most distance of any player in the AFL so far this season against Hawthorn last Sunday, clocking 17.2km according to figures from the Telstra AFL Tracker.

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It places Neal-Bullen 11th all-time on the list with Scully running a monopoly, quite literally, on the top-five distances covered with figures only made publically available from 2017 onwards.

Neal-Bullen overtook Gaff's 17.1km achieved in round three against Geelong, with former athlete and versatile Cat Blicavs running 17km against the Demons in round one.

The 22-year-old finished third in Melbourne’s post-Christmas 2km time trial behind Tom Bugg and Tom McDonald, with Demons elite performance manager Dave Misson giving an indication of his repeat running ability.

"He's probably our best game runner," Misson told AFL.com.au.

"He's a kid that's turned his career around in the last couple of years and it's as much his mindset and his willingness to work hard on the field as it is his physical capacity."

Neal-Bullen has become a vital part of the Demons' side because of his two-way running, work ethic and ability to pressure the opposition.

His career spiked last year when he became a permanent part of the team, averaging 18.8 disposals and one goal from 19 matches in 2017.

As a testament to his standing within the team, Neal-Bullen has been given a leadership position in the forward line, with Misson saying the unofficial title was indicative of his attitude.

Misson said the Demons use a measure called "threshold running", defined as submaximal running or, in simpler terms, hard striding to work out whether a player is putting in on the field.

Those figures are represented in Neal-Bullen's running figures from the weekend, with the half-forward averaging 10.1km/h in attack and 9.5km/h in defence (both game-highs).

"Rather than looking at total kilometres, threshold running is the biggest indicator of what is, essentially, work rate," Misson said.

"It doesn't surprise us that he's punching out big numbers there."

Misson said running figures can be inflated in bad losses, with players forced to chase the opposition more than they might in a comfortable victory or tight contest.

Neal-Bullen had an equal game-high (alongside Liam Shiels) 32 pressure acts against the Hawks, which Misson said was an indicator of his desire and effort.

Neal-Bullen finished the game against Hawthorn with 22 disposals, six tackles and a goal (the drought-breaking major in the final term and one of only six Demons goals for the afternoon).

"He's just become a really reliable teammate. He plays to all the structures, whatever role he's given he plays that role," Misson said.

Top five distance covered 2018

Stats supplied by Champion Data