Super Bowl NFL punter Arryn Siposs will play Melbourne suburban cricket this weekend

Nine months after punting for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, Arryn Siposs will play park cricket for his old club in southeast Melbourne, writes PAUL AMY.

Months after playing in a Super Bowl, Arryn Siposs is back playing park cricket. Picture: Rob Carr/Getty Images

Watched by millions, Arryn Siposs played for the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII in February.

Tomorrow, in front of a sprinkling of spectators, he’ll play suburban cricket in the southeast of Melbourne.

The punter is back from the US after surprisingly being cut by the Eagles in late August.

“I’m back here and sorting myself out for the next phase of life and seeing where it takes me,’’ Siposs, 30, told CODE Sports today.

“I’m obviously still considering those (NFL) options but there hasn’t been a lot of interest.

“Obviously it’s very hard to get yourself back in when you’ve unfortunately been taken out of it, and there are only 32 spots available and right now they’re all taken. But we’ll see what happens in the not-too-distant future. If nothing happens, I’ll look forward to whatever’s next and trying to get the ball rolling there.’’

Siposs still hopes to return to the NFL. Picture: Cooper Neill/Getty Images

He admitted he was surprised to be let go with a year to run on his Eagles contract.

After a much-discussed miskick against Kansas City in the Super Bowl, the former AFL and VFL player played the first two games of the 2023 NFL season.

He thought he performed “reasonably well’.

“Obviously the things that went down in the Super Bowl weren’t ideal, but I thought I made amends a little bit and started off with some really strong games, but obviously they wanted to go in a different direction,’’ Siposs said. “I can’t do much about that unfortunately.’’

He has returned to Melbourne with his wife and young daughter, and is open to talking to clubs and organisations.

“I definitely see myself as being in the sports sector,’’ he said. “I’m looking for some coaching opportunities. I was doing my teaching degree as well, so there are options there too.’’

When his AFL commitments with St Kilda allowed, Siposs played local cricket for Bentleigh ANA in the South East Cricket Association.

He last turned out for ANA in February 2018.

Tomorrow he’ll resume with the club, lining up in its First XI at King George Reserve in East Bentleigh.

Former Essendon AFL champion Matthew Lloyd has also been named in the team for ANA, which in the lead-up to the season had called a “crisis meeting’’ over its player stocks but has since made a rattling start to the Longmuir Shield.

Siposs played 28 games for St Kilda.

The appearance of Siposs has given it another lift.

“There’s a couple of guys I still keep in touch with from there and they got word of me being back,’’ Siposs said.

“Initially I said no to them but they kept pestering me about it. A couple of spots opened up, so I thought I’d have a bit of a run-around and a hit. They’re a great club. I played a few games with them over a two or three-year period after I finished up with the Saints. It was always a good place to be around.’’

Before being drafted by St Kilda, Siposs was a promising cricketer, playing in the lower grades at Premier club Frankston Peninsula.

Siposs played 28 games with the Saints from 2011-2015, a five-season stop in which he was frustrated by injuries.

He then joined Williamstown in the VFL in the hope of getting a second AFL listing.

It never came.

Early in November, 2017, country club Wonthaggi trumpeted Siposs as a signing for 2018.

Two weeks later Prokick Australia announced he had been offered a scholarship to Auburn University.

After a stint at Detroit as an undrafted free agent, Siposs moved to the Eagles, breaking into the team in 2021.

Originally published as Super Bowl NFL punter Arryn Siposs will play Melbourne suburban cricket this weekend