Opinion
Ever since the plane that shall not be named attempted to make it big at the San Francisco 49ers in 2015, NRL and related media have had a fascination with players attempting to make the change and cross the Pacific.
Valentine Holmes had an even less successful attempt than his Origin rival, but in a stunning success story, Jordan Mailata, someone who originally started out in rugby league, has become a very useful offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles. As such, more NRL players and youngsters are no doubt licking their lips at the potential tens of millions that could come with an NFL contract, but there are very few who could actually make the transition.
The issue is that to play in the NFL you have to have an exceptional skillset and the physical capabilities that the role you have chosen demands. Mailata was never going to make it in the NRL because he was simply too large and couldn’t play long enough minutes, but in the NFL, that is less of an issue.
When it comes to the current crop of big guys in the NRL, like Payne Haas and Junior Paulo, they are a good 20 kilograms lighter than the average offensive or defensive linemen, ruling that position out entirely. Most of the guys in the NFL who have similar builds to NRL second rowers and outside backs play tight end, wide receiver, cornerback, linebacker, safety, or, the most famous position, quarterback.
The trouble for NRL players attempting to transition to any of those roles is that they are simply too late in the game. These are very specialised roles that require a deep knowledge of the game and the ability to read the opposition, not to mention the technical skills that are very foreign to NRL players, such as blocking.
That leaves potential NFL recruits with just a few options: running back, punter, and kick returners. Running back was where Jarryd Hayne, and the other two positions utilise skills that mirror that of a few NRL positions.
Of all the players in the NRL who might want to try NFL, here are the three that this reader thinks would be most likely to make a roster.
It would be impossible to compile any potential list of NFL hopefuls without mentioning Matt Burton as a potential punter. This is a rare occasion where his boot alone could probably get him an interview with half a dozen teams in the NFL.
Good punters can have exceptionally long careers, and there are already a few ex-AFL players on NFL teams for the simple fact that they can kick the ball high, deep, and with a lot of air-time. Matt Burton ticks all three boxes, and while punters do not earn as much as other positions, they are on the field for a very short amount of time, still earn millions of dollars, and can be instrumental in a team’s victory or defeat.
While his kicking style would need to be tailored, Matt Burton could, without a doubt, make the changes required to go big in the NFL.
(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
While running backs sometimes need to catch passes and understand the routes they have to run, for the most part, they are a bit of a battering ram. They cannot be exceptionally tall or heavy, and crucially they need to be able to maintain their balance and keep going forward while taking bumps and hits from all angles.
Ravalawa is very fun to watch because of his love of returning the ball at maximum speed against the big men in the middle of the field. He fits within the physical dimensions of what you would want in a running back and has immense raw power.
Ravalawa also gets the nod over a similar Fijian powerhouse, Maika Sivo, simply because he is quite a few years younger. Being a running back is a young man’s game, and most are thinking of ending their career around the age Sivo currently is (29). While he may not be the initial choice for intricate plays, as a RB2 or RB3, Ravalawa would be a good choice.
The Hammer has been a revelation this year for the Dolphins, and his speed and manoeuvrability are exciting to watch. On kick returns, he seems to almost instinctively know which way to go to beat at least a couple of defenders, and often many more than that.
In the NFL, much like the NRL, whenever points are scored, or at the beginning of each half, one team receives the ball from a place-kick. However, unlike the NRL, in the NFL, this is much more exciting as the kick returner has a whole swathe of teammates in front of them trying to block the opposition.
Hammer’s ability to spot gaps and accelerate on a dime would serve him well here, and with a pair of permitted gloves, he would likely never drop the ball again. He is a little bit too small to play running back, but as a kick returner, he is perfect. The only issue here is that most kick returners have another role they also play in the team, and for Hamiso, this would be a real problem.
For fans of both sports, it is always fun to speculate, and funner still when speculation translates into real life occasionally. Who would you like to see make the switch and, perhaps more importantly, who do you think could?
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