For those unfamiliar with Bankstown in south-western Sydney, it is a rugby league heartland which produces some of the most talented athletes Australia has to offer. It is also a low socio-economic region dealing with high unemployment and a considerable crime rate – making it tough for many of its gifted youth to overcome the challenges they face on a daily basis and achieve success.
However, there are a number who have come from Bankstown and accomplished some incredible things – particularly on the sporting field. One such athlete who has defied the odds and forged an amazing career is Jordan Mailata – the offensive tackle who will be suiting up for the super bowl betting odds favourites the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LVII at Glendale, Arizona on February 12.
Although there have been multiple Australians to ply their trade in the National Football League (NFL) over the past two decades – they have had a fraction of the impact that Jordan Mailata has. Whether it be Ben Graham, Sav Rocca or Darren Bennett, all of whom were punters – their Australian Football League (AFL) transition to the NFL seemed more of a natural change and felt far less groundbreaking than that of Mailata’s.
As many young boys do from western Sydney, particularly those with Polynesian heritage, Mailata began playing rugby league from a young age. His massive frame, footwork and superb offloading ability made him the perfect front rower from a talent perspective – and by 2015 – he had found himself in the U18s squad of the National Rugby League (NRL) side Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
After playing in the lower grades at the Bulldogs, Mailata was offered an opportunity to join the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ U20s team in 2017 – another professional club who compete in the NRL. While he showed glimpses of his undeniable talent during his time at the Rabbits – Mailata’s progression was hindered by fitness and conditioning concerns.
Rugby league continues to get faster and faster, and while his 6’8 and 166-kilogram frame made him a nightmare to tackle, the Samoan-Australian struggled at times to keep up with the free-flowing pace of play. However, as mentioned earlier, Mailata showed at times how damaging he can be, which made for a great highlight reel.
His reel garnered the attention of NFL scouts and executives, who invited Mailata to try out for their International Player Pathway Program – a program aimed at identifying talent from outside the United States. From there, the then 20-year-old impressed enough that he was asked to board a plane to Florida to attend the IMG Academy. It was in Bradenton that he was scouted by the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.
Fast-forward to later that month, and Mailata impressed once again at the NFL combine, immensely helping his stock in the lead-up to the NFL Draft. He would eventually be selected as the 233rd overall pick by the Eagles in the 2018 NFL Draft – without ever having played a single snap of football. While the growing pains were noticeable early on – Mailata’s improvement over the past two seasons has been astronomical – so much so he was named an NFL Pro Bowl alternate in 2022.
Couple that with his four-year, $64 million (USD) contract he signed in September of 2021 – and Mailata just may have paved the way for many more young Australian athletes to try their hand at becoming a professional in the NFL.