NFL-Eagles tackle Mailata eyes Australian first in second Super Bowl

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Having once worked on demolition sites while pursuing a rugby league career, human wrecking ball Jordan Mailata will look to tear down the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and become the first Australian to earn a Super Bowl ring.

The New Orleans clash will be Mailata’s second bid for that bit of sporting history after he fell just short when the Eagles lost 38-35 to the Chiefs two years ago in Super Bowl LVII.

The 6ft-8in (2.03m), 365-pound (165kg) offensive tackle has not so much blazed a trail for Australia as bulldozed his way to the top of the gridiron game.

Although the 27-year-old is now an established leader in the Eagles’ locker room, it was a long, hard road for Mailata from western Sydney to the City of Brotherly Love.

Growing up in a big Polynesian family, Mailata laboured on construction sites while he pursued a career in rugby league.

What did he learn from the experience?

“That it sucked,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “The routine of it all was pretty gruesome. … Probably the hardest part of it was just trying to get into that routine and I think it kind of helped a lot with my transition (into the NFL).”

Unable to break into professional rugby league, Mailata tried his luck through the NFL’s International Player Pathway program and was eventually scouted by Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.

Mailata didn’t play a game in his first two NFL seasons on the Eagles roster after being taken at pick 233 in the 2018 draft, but he eventually blossomed under Stoutland’s tutelage.

“Let me just say this to you, Jordan Mailata is maybe the most unbelievable story in the history of the NFL,” Stoutland told media in New Orleans.

“From where he came from, for the amount that he knew about football to where he is today, it’s incredible,” Stoutland said. “He is a great leader, he is a great player, he understands the game.”

Former church choirboy Mailata is also a great singer and serenaded ex-President Joe Biden at the White House with a rendition of “This Christmas” by soul singer Donny Hathaway in late 2023.

Mailata has hit all the right notes for the Eagles this season, stepping up as a leader in the wake of All-Pro center Jason Kelce’s retirement.

He has been fiercely protective of quarterback Jalen Hurts from media criticism and lives by the mantra of “blocking out the noise” – whether it be external pressure or President Donald Trump.

“I mean, that’s cool,” he said of Trump’s plans to attend the Super Bowl. “But Donald’s not on that field, mate. Again, that’s blocking out the noise. What I am going to do thinking about Donald Trump? How’s that going to make me win the game?”

Thousands of Australians will tune into the Super Bowl on a workday morning on Monday as Mailata looks to shield Hurts from the Chiefs’ defensive line at the Superdome.

Australian media reported this week that the NFL will bring regular season games to Melbourne starting next year, including one between the Eagles and Los Angeles Rams in October.

The NFL has not confirmed the report but Mailata said he would be hitting up commissioner Roger Goodell for tickets for his relatives if it happened.

“It would feel amazing to bring the game Down Under for the growth of the sport but also for the opportunity to play in front of my friends and my family,” he said. “I’d have to ask Uncle Roger to pay for all the tickets that I’d have to buy. Maybe half the stadium. We’ll see.”

(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Gerry Doyle)