Cricket
Racing
Rugby
League
Motorsport
Football
Golf
Combat Sports
Basketball
Tennis
Other Sports
Sport Nation
How the "kid from Bankstown" became Australia's first Super Bowl champion
Charles Goodsir • February 11th, 2025 12:33 pm
Jordan Mailata has become the first Australian to start and win in a Super Bowl after his Philadelphia Eagles thrashed the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
Originally hailing from Bankstown in Sydney’s west, Mailata played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and South Sydney Rabbitohs in the Under-18s and under-20s competitions before he made the switch to American football.
Lawrence Karam, who coached Mailata at his junior rugby league side the Bankstown Bulls, acknowledged that the 27-year-old always possessed immense talent but never thought it would eventuate into being an integral member of a Super Bowl winning team.
“Jordan joined the club when he was eight and I also had the privilege of coaching his older brother Daniel,” Karam told SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“Jordan was a tower. He stood out but he was a gentle giant. Would I ever have put him in the category to win a Super Bowl? Probably not.
“What an amazing feat it is. He’s a rare beast and a rare talent.
“He was always (athletic) and I think it was hidden because of his height and his strength.
“As he got older, he realised his potential and he was in the Bulldogs system, went through the reps there and then moved to South Sydney.
“It was a blessing for him to go into the NFL pathways program and it was a no-brainer for him to be picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I don’t think he had ever watched a gridiron game, the Super Bowl or even had an NFL team. His parents and family were initially against it (but) this moment shows that it was worth the risk and the challenge.
“He’s now reaping all the rewards from it.
“It’s history and it’s one of the stories you look back on and just think ‘wow’.
“A kid from Bankstown, playing rugby league then goes on to win the Super Bowl. It’s unheard of.”
The Daily Telegraph’s David Riccio confirmed that following Mailata’s success in the NFL, American scouts are on the lookout in the NRL for the next big Australian star.
“Americans have money to burn,” Riccio said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“There are NFL scouts out here looking for the next Jordan Mailata.
“Mailata is a rare commodity however and that is why his story is so special.
“It hasn’t happened before.”
$$ HTML $$
$$ HTML $$
$$ HTML $$
