IT ALL STARTS WITH A DREAM
THE NFL is coming to town, heightening the hopes of a generation keen to become the next Jarryd Hayne (inset).
An inaugural international combine will be held on the Gold Coast in October.
THE arrival of the NFL’s inaugural international combine on the Gold Coast in October could pave the way for Australia’s US invasion.
That’s the message from NFL football program manager Matthew Reamer, who hit the Coast yesterday to announce players from as far as Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and New Zealand would gather in the city on October 6 to chase their NFL dreams.
Up to 75 athletes will be chosen from six preliminary combines beginning next week around the Pacific region, including Brisbane and Sydney, to participate in a testing day at a location on the Coast to be determined.
Up to five athletes could then find themselves catapulted into the NFL’s International Pathway Program, where the draft or direct selection on to a club roster would be the next goal.
With Jarryd Hayne blazing a trail with San Francisco in 2015 and former South Sydney under-20s giant Jordan Mailata now trialling with Superbowl champions the Philadelphia Eagles, Reamer said Australia remained an untapped market for talent.
“It’s a great opportunity to
come out, evaluate some talent and see what we have here. (Jarryd) opened up a great door, I think it definitely brought some interest where there may not have been interest prior so it was exciting for us,” New York-based Reamer said.
“Obviously the athletes here are amazing. There’s tremendous athletes here so it’s really just how they translate out to our sport.
“The combine itself, the athletes will have the opportunity to come out and do some combine tests and then specific positional drills that will help us place those athletes into different groups.”
The idea to bring an NFL combine to Australia is the brainchild of Pacific Sports Management owner and director Chris Orr, whose stable includes a host of NRL stars.
“I think (the combine) opens up a clear pathway to the NFL. I think he certainly put us on the map in terms of the elite athletes we have in different codes in this country,” Orr said.
Gold Coast Stingrays president Craig James said players from the club had already indicated they would register for the preliminary combine in Brisbane.
“I think anything that exposes people to gridiron would be good for the club. It broadens people’s awareness and if they see the Stingrays exist here, by association (the combine) is going to help us,” James said.