Australia's Jordan Mailata through to Super Bowl as Philadelphia destroy Washington

Man mountain Jordan Mailata is set to become the first Australian to play in two Super Bowls with his Philadelphia Eagles through to the NFL showcase game. Mailata’s stunning career continued in the Eagles’ 55-23 home victory against the Washington Commanders in the NFC conference championship fixture on Sunday night (Monday AEDT). The Eagles and Mailata, rated among the best offensive tackles in the NFL, will play the winner of the later AFL conference championship fixture between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs are chasing a rare feat of three consecutive Super Bowl wins and their fourth trophy in six seasons. But Mailata, who played junior rugby league for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, will hope to end the Chiefs’ streak on February 9 (February 10 AEDT). Mailata, the son of Samoan immigrants who was born in Bankstown in Sydney, played in the Eagles’ 38-35 loss to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl two years ago but returns to the biggest stage in American football Last April, Mailata signed a three-year, $US66 million contract extension that included a $US20m signing bonus to remain with the Eagles through to 2028.



The 27-year-old, who is 2.03 metres tall and weighs 166 kilograms, is the fourth Australian to play in a Super Bowl following punters Ben Graham (Arizona, 2009), Mitch Wishnowsky (San Francisco, 2020) and Arryn Siposs, who was Mailata’s Eagles teammate in their 2023 defeat. But one Australian does have a Super Bowl ring: Jesse Williams was on the Seattle Seahawks roster in their 2014 triumph but didn’t play during the season because of injury.

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