Arryn Siposs played just 28 AFL games for St Kilda between 2011 and 2015 before being delisted – but the one-time Saint has moved on to bigger and better things in the NFL.
The 29-year old made his NFL debut for the Philadelphia Eagles as a punter 12 months ago, and has since become a regular in the team.
His best moment yet came in the Eagles’ 24-7 victory over Minnesota, with Siposs lighting up social media – and dazzling Americans – with an inspirational effort to save a certain Vikings touchdown.
After Eagles kicker Jake Elliott’s attempt at a 41-yard field goal was blocked, the ball spilled free for Vikings cornerback Kris Boyd to run onto, and make a desperate run for the line.
However, Siposs, who was holding the ball for Elliott, had other ideas, surging past his teammate’s unsuccessful lunge at Boyd’s feet and running him down.
Siposs’ effort in the third quarter stopped a gilt-edged chance for the Vikings to get back into the match; the punter quickly receiving praise from Eagles fans and the NFL world alike.
Fans described it as a ‘game-changing play’, while Siposs was also hailed as the ‘fastest punter in NFL history’ by no less a judge than ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller.
The tackle isn’t in the usual job description for a punter, whose job is to kick the ball from the line of scrimmage to the opposition as far as possible to limit field position advantage.
However, it would have been nothing out of the ordinary for Siposs, who grew up playing AFL in Melbourne suburb Beaconsfield, even kicking 99 goals in his U16s season before being taken by the Saints with pick 75 in the 2010 national draft.
Notably, though, the tackle would have been illegal in Aussie Rules, as players are prohibited from tackling players around the legs.
He went on to play for VFL club Williamstown after being cut by the Saints, before receiving an offer to play college football for Auburn University in Alabama at the end of 2017.
The latest in a long line of former AFL players to head stateside as punters, including former Collingwood and North Melbourne superboot Saverio Rocca and Geelong gun Ben Graham, Siposs was then signed as an undrafted free agent by the Detroit Lions after the 2020 NFL draft.
While he would fall in and out of the practice squad across a year at the Lions, he would have better luck when signed under a reserves contract by the Eagles in early 2021, before making his debut in September last year.
Not all the praise for Siposs’ chasedown was positive though; given his status as one of the NFL’s more maligned players, some Eagles fans chose to damn him with faint praise instead.
Siposs isn’t the first Aussie to put his AFL instincts to good use in the NFL; last year, Seattle Seahawks punter and childhood Aussie Rules player Michael Dickson dropped jaws with an incredible double punt after his first attempt was blocked.
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