Aussie Eagles bid for Super Bowl rings after sports careers thwarted at
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[February 06, 2023]
By Ian Ransom
(Reuters) - Growing up in western Sydney in a big family of
Polynesian immigrants, Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan
Mailata once cut school to watch the Super Bowl - but more for the
half-time entertainment than the game.
On Sunday, the former rugby league player and church choirboy will
perform on the NFL's biggest stage as the man tasked with protecting
quarterback Jalen Hurts against the Kansas City Chiefs.
"I didn’t understand how to play the game. I was just watching
mostly for the half-time performances," the hulking 25-year-old told
reporters in Philadelphia.
"I thought about singing in (a Super Bowl), but definitely not
playing in it.
"No, I’m playing with you. I never thought about being here when I
was watching it."
He and team mate Arryn Siposs, a former Australian Rules football
player, will hope to become the first Australians to play in a Super
Bowl and win a championship ring.
The first to win a ring was Jesse Williams as a member of the 2013
Seattle Seahawks roster but the Indigenous Australian defensive
tackle never played a down that season due to injury.
Other Australians have been on the losing side in a Super Bowl.
Mitch Wishnowsky punted for the San Francisco 49ers when they were
defeated by the Chiefs in 2020 while Ben Graham played for the
Arizona Cardinals in 2009 when they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
LONG GRIND
While playing in the Super Bowl will be the realisation of a
childhood dream for most of their team mates, it was not on the
Australian duo's radar until a few years ago.
Both found their way into American football after sports careers
that never took off back home.
Mailata, who stands 2.03m and weighs over 150kg, played with
National Rugby League club South Sydney's junior side but was unable
to secure a professional contract.
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A reel of his playing highlights pricked the
interest of an NFL scout, however, and a successful workout led to a
spot on the league's international pathway programme.
Only a few months after walking away from rugby league and with no
American football experience, Mailata was selected as a seventh
round pick by the Eagles in the 2018 NFL draft.
Siposs followed a now well-beaten path to the NFL as a former
Australian Rules player making the successful transition to punter.
The Melbourne man played 28 championship matches for St Kilda in the
top-flight Australian Football League (AFL) across five seasons but
struggled for consistency and was cut from the roster in 2015.
He morphed into a punter at Melbourne-based ProKick Australia, a
programme run by former AFL player Nathan Chapman, who has helped a
number of local athletes make it to the NFL.
After playing college football for Auburn University in Alabama,
Siposs was drafted by Detroit in 2020 before being picked up by the
Eagles the following year.
Siposs has been sidelined with an ankle injury since early-December
but was reactivated by the Eagles last week and said he was
preparing to play in the Super Bowl.
"It’s been a long grind over the last seven to eight weeks and I’m
very fortunate to be in this position to have a shot at it and see
what happens,” said the 30-year-old.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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