Australia could be in the extraordinary position of having two punters going head-to-head in the NFL's Pro Bowl game with Michael Dickson, Cameron Johnston and Jordan Berry among the early top vote-getters.
The NFL released the preliminary leaders for all positions on Wednesday after the first week of online fan voting for the January 27 game in Orlando.
Voting concludes on December 13.
The Pro Bowl game, the equivalent of the NBA's All-Star game, features the best players from the NFL's NFC division against the best from the AFC division.
Sydney's Dickson, after his stunning start to his debut season for the Seattle Seahawks, leads the ballot for the NFC division's punting spot.
Dickson is ranked first among all NFL punters with a net average of 43.9 yards a punt and has generated plenty of headlines with drop kicks and "perfect" punts stopping just outside the end zone like perfectly placed golf pitch shots.
Dickson's biggest threat in the NFC is Los Angeles Rams punter and four-time Pro Bowl representative Johnny Hekker who trails him in the fan vote tally in second place, with New Orleans Saints punter Thomas Morstead third and fellow Aussie Johnston fourth.
Geelong's Johnston, punting for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, slightly trails Dickson on the NFL stats board with a net average of 43.0 yards per punt.
Johnston has also generated his own headlines, including shattering the image of punters being physically soft by manhandling New Orleans Saints returner Alvin Kamara last weekend with an aggressive tackle.
Essendon's Berry, punting for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is second among AFC punters.
The Cleveland Browns' Britton Colquitt leads the AFC vote with 66,746 votes.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees, with 487,400 votes, leads all players in Pro Bowl balloting with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (459,325 votes) second overall, Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley (402,238 votes) third followed by Steelers running back James Conner (384,643 votes) and New York Giants rookie running back Saquon Barkley (363,609 votes).
Fans can vote at NFL.com/ProBowlVote
The Pro Bowl teams will be determined by fan, player and coach votes, with each group comprising one-third of the pool.
Share
