‘First Rabbitoh to win a Super Bowl’: NRL world celebrates Jordan Mailata’s historic NFL feat
South Sydney junior Jordan Mailata’s immense size cost him a future in rugby league. That same 203cm, 166kg frame helped Philadelphia Eagles to win Super Bowl LIX and the NRL world couldn’t be prouder.
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He’s the kid from Bankstown who has completed a story worthy of a Hollywood movie.
The NRL world is celebrating Jordan Mailata becoming the first Australian to play in a winning Super Bowl team after his Philadelphia Eagles stunned two-time defending champions the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday.
The Eagles pulled off a 40-22 victory in New Orleans in a match watched by 60 million fans worldwide.
And it came with a piece of history for Australia and Mailata, Philadelphia’s 203cm, 166kg offensive tackle.
“What a great story. One day it will make a Hollywood movie, and so it should, as he has created history,” Mailata’s former agent Chris Orr said.
The kid from Bankstown, who was once in the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ pathways system before his immense size cost him a future in rugby league.
His agent at the time, Orr encouraged him to apply for the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program.
“The day I met Jordan, our Sydney based PSM agent George Ghazal brought him for a meeting at Coogee as he was struggling to secure him an NRL opportunity,” Orr said.
“The moment he walked in I was sending him to the NFL.
“We took photos, measurements and pulled together a highlights package and sent it off. Next thing I convinced Jordan and his family to take the next step and let us fly him over to be tested in LA.”
Mailata then spent close to three months learning the game with elite training six days a week at the base in Florida.
He eventually became the first player drafted from the program, with the Eagles selecting him as pick number 233 in the seventh round of the 2018 draft.
It was a life-changing moment as he sought out a fresh start and began chasing a dream in the hyper-competitive NFL.
Cronulla skipper Cameron McInnes remembers seeing him around his former club South Sydney.
“No disrespect to him, but he wasn’t a consistent player for them,” he said.
“I’ve seen the highlights, and when he ran the ball he ran well, but because of the size of him, someone like him it’s a big ask, the retreat speed required in the game.
“Speaking to some of the rugby union guys, and I watch a lot of rugby as well, the thing for them, the 10 metres is a big game changer.
“The thing for Jordan, for him if he would have played rugby union he would have excelled as well. He chose the right sport, for sure.”
That’s an understatement.
Now Mailata is a Super Bowl champion and a superstar of the game, going from a $5000 contract with the Rabbitohs to a $100m deal with the Eagles.
Mailata waved Australian and Samoan flags as the Eagles accept the Vince Lombardi Trophy at Caesars Super Dome in New Orleans.
“First Aussie and first Rabbitoh to WIN a Super Bowl!” South Sydney posted on social media platform X on Monday.
Gold Coast Titans captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, also a huge Eagles fan, locked horns with Mailata during their time together in the under-20 National Youth Competition in 2017.
Following Monday morning’s 2025 NRL season launch in Sydney, Fa’asuamaleaui swapped his Titans jumper for an Eagles jersey.
First Aussie and first Rabbitoh to WIN a Super Bowl!! 🆠pic.twitter.com/UEt2QmiiiT
— South Sydney Rabbitohs 🰠(@SSFCRABBITOHS) February 10, 2025
“I played against Jordan back in the NYC back in the day,” Fa’asuamaleaui said.
“I was still playing for the Storm and he was playing with the Rabbitohs and he’s the biggest person I’d ever seen, still to this day.
“He’s massive, he’s like a head and a half taller than me. I saw him after the game, if he was big on the field, he looked even bigger up and close.
Mailata and Fa’asuamaleaui share Samoan heritage, making Monday’s historic Super Bowl win even more meaningful.
“We both come from Samoan families. It’s awesome to see how successful he is at the moment,” Fa’asuamaleaui said.
“To see more Pacific Islander athletes branch out beyond league and union and have different career paths, it’s good to see the Samoan culture being represented and being put on the map.”
Fa’asuamaleaui, who is on track to return from an ACL injury in the Titans’ season opener in round 2, has only been an Eagles fans for four months but savoured every bit of Monday’s victory.
The 24-year old adopted the Eagles during his two-week stint with injury rehabilitation guru Bill Knowles in Philadelphia.
He immersed himself in the NFL experience, taking time out of his rehab schedule to watch the Eagles take on the Cleveland Browns.
“I’m a proper Eagles fan now,” Fa’asuamaleaui said.
“So, I’m claiming it hard. I’m like, ‘I was there when they were struggling and I have backed and supported them since’.
“ I got into the Eagles when I went over for my injury rehab. I went to see them too, it was my first NFL game so it was cool.
“It was when they were getting booed by their own home crowd because they weren’t going too well.
“They were two wins and two losses. They won the game but they weren’t great so their fans were too happy.
“It’s ruthless.”
Originally published as ‘First Rabbitoh to win a Super Bowl’: NRL world celebrates Jordan Mailata’s historic NFL feat
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