- Made the Super Bowl in 2023
- Lost to Kansas City's bosses
- Looking at redemption in 2025
The mountain man Jordan Mailata will become the first Australian to play two Super Bowls with his Philadelphia Eagles to the NFL exhibition game.
The impressive Carrera de Mailata continued in the victory at the Eagles house for 55-23 against the Washington Commanders in the match for the NFC Conference Championship on Sunday night (Monday AEDT).
The Eagles and Mailata, classified among the best offensive Tackles of the NFL, will play against the winner of the last match for the AFC conference championship between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Chiefs pursue a unusual feat: three consecutive victories in the Super Bowl and their fourth trophy in six seasons.
But Mailata, who played the Youth Rugby League for the Rabbitohs in southern Sydney, will hope to put an end to the Chiefs streak on February 9 (February 10 AEDT).
Mailata, son of Samoan immigrants who was born in Bankstown in Sydney, played in the defeat of the Eagles by 38-35 against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl two years ago but returns to the most important stage of American football.
The offensive Tackle of the Philadelphia Eagles, Jordan Mailata, hugs to the Washington Commanders, Frankie Luvu, after the NFL American football match for the NFC championship.
Mailata hopes to erase the pain of losing a Super Bowl on her second chance in the great dance.
Last April, Mailata signed a contract extension for three years and 66 million dollars that included a bonus to sign of 20 million dollars to remain with the Eagles until 2028.
The 27 -year -old, who measures 2.03 meters and weighs 166 kilograms, is the Australian fourth to play a Super Bowl after the Ben Graham apostators (Arizona, 2009), Mitch Wishnowsky (San Francisco, 2020) and Arryn Sipos, which, which He was a mailata partner in the Eagles in his defeat of 2023.
But an Australian does have a Super Bowl ring: Jesse Williams was in the Seattle Seahawks squad in his 2014 win, but did not play during the season due to an injury.
The Mailata shares have increased annually since it was selected by the Eagles in the 2018 Draft: it joined the NFL through the International Pathway program of the League and was chosen by Philadelphia in the seventh round, as general selection number 233.
Such has been its impact this season, that there were protests when Mailata was ignored for the selection for the PRO Bowl, the annual stars game.
Mailata ignored the controversy and the beginning of this month said: “That is out of my control.”
'But I will say this: it is not something that prioritizes or that I look forward to.
'And another thing is that, when I look back from where I was last year to where I am this year, I know that I am on the right path.
“But we have bigger goals.”
His teammate and right offensive Towle Lane Johnson, selected for the Pro Bowl for the sixth time, was less diplomatic.
“Jordan is the best left Tackle footballer this year, I definitely think it's All-Pro; it's the best season he has had,” said Johnson.