My Cats team for NFL

SEPTEMBER means finals footy in Australia but in America it means the start of the NFL season.

It is so popular in the States and, having been there a couple of times to experience the game, the atmosphere and the fans, I can see why.

It is growing as a sport globally but faces challenges not dissimilar to our sport, with the greatest being that of concussion, which is an issue in the AFL but is much more devastating in the NFL with many current lawsuits.

Then NFL is a great spectacle but is also the leader in Fantasy Football with 13 million teams around the world created last year. We have a league at our club with 10 players taking part in the draft last weekend. It is a sport that has a lot of intrigue personally but also to a lot of sportsmen in Australia as more than a handful of AFL players have tried their hand at it and successfully converted from the AFL to the NFL as a punter.

Last year, we saw Jarryd Hayne convert from Rugby League to the NFL but in a different position, at running back and punt returner. Although his success was limited, he made the cuts and played in the NFL, which can’t be undersold.

The obvious conversion is to a punter as we kick a similar shaped ball, whereas to become a running back, you need to be very athletically gifted, as Hayne is. We have some guys that could put their hand up at different roles, so with the NFL starting just this week, I look at who would line up in what position if we were picking a team.