Western Sydney: A nursery for NFL talent as scouts eye off ‘big, strong guys’

Jordan Mailata is the first Australian to win a Super Bowl but he won’t be the last if American scouts continue to seek out Australian players of Pacific Island descent.

Western Sydney is poised to become one of the biggest NFL nurseries outside the US, according to the man preparing to parade Australia’s finest teenage talent in front of American scouts.

American Football Australia (AFA) CEO Wade Kelly says the success of Super Bowl hero Jordan Mailata will further focus US high schools and ­colleges on young Aussie players of Pacific Island descent.

“They want guys who are big, strong and explosive and the Polynesian boys fit that bill,” he said of the American educational institutions that deliver players to the NFL.

“Australian sports fans have seen Pacific Islander players come through to dominate rugby league and rugby union but they might not realise that, in the NFL now, more than 3 per cent of players have Polynesian heritage.

The success of Jordan Mailata, pictured here celebrating after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL Super Bowl in February, will further focus US high schools and ­colleges on young Aussie players. Picture: AP Photo/Doug Benc

“I spoke to a coach at University of Southern California recently and asked him, ‘Why are you coming for our players?’

“He told me, ‘We’ve got plenty of wide receivers and running backs and quarterbacks, these fast, pure athletes, but we don’t produce enough big, strong guys.’”

Western Sydney has a Pasifika community of more than 88,000.

The Down Under search by American scouts will put Western Sydney and players like 18-year-old offensive ­lineman John Lemalu from ­Liverpool – a Junior Australia representative last year – at the epicentre of opportunity.

Rising star John Lemalu, aged 16, is heading to Canada in July to play NFL. Picture Thomas Lisson

Mr Kelly is establishing an AFA Academy in Blacktown to fast track talent and recruit new players to the game. The NFL has already opened an Academy on the Gold Coast, at AB Paterson high school, where the first intake of five players started late last year.

To further help pave a path to the US and potential high school and college scholarships – which can be worth as much as $500,000 – AFA is running two matches, for under-16s and under-18s, in July that will have American coaches in attendance.

“It’s the first time we’ve done it and we’re trying to make them the biggest ­scouting games outside the US,” Mr Kelly said.

“There’s no doubt US interest in our players has really ­accelerated over the two years I’ve been here. I get inquiries at least once a week from high schools, colleges, scouts, about, ‘What have you got?’ or ‘Do you know this kid?’

“The big focus for us is to get these kids a chance to go to the US on scholarship, get an education, have a great experience playing college football … maybe make the NFL.”

Former Seattle Seahawks star Jesse Williams, who missed playing in the 2014 Super Bowl because of injury but still received a winner’s ring, worked with AFA on a search for elite players in 2023, continues to mentor players in Queensland and frequently promotes them on his social media platforms.

During that 2023 campaign, an American high school coach recruited two 16-year-old cousins on seeing them in the car park. “Pretty much did it on sight,” said Kelly.

Daetyn Dean, a 136kg offensive lineman, and 156kg Jobe Tuafale went on full two-year scholarships to Layton Christian Academy high school in Utah and this year will take up scholarships to Tyler Junior College in Texas.

Frankie Tinilau, a 147kg offensive lineman, went to University of Miami after being recruited on scholarship to Immaculata La Salle high school in Florida. Offensive lineman Jordan Moko won a college scholarship to Texas A & M before moving on to Charlotte and now the University of California.