NFL scouts will hunt for the next Jordan Mailata on a newly established recruitment drive across Australia later this year.
Mailata made history as the first rugby league forward to get picked up in an NFL draft, selected in the seventh round by the Philadelphia Eagles despite never having played the sport.
The former South Sydney under-20s talent had moved to the United States for a crack and, after a stint at Florida's IMG Academy, has made a big enough impact to send scouts scampering for more just like him.
The 21-year-old, listed at 157kg and 203cm, is now the face of the first NFL International Combine to take place on the Gold Coast from October 5-7.
Testing days in Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, Wellington, Fiji and Samao will first collect 75 athletes between 20 and 25 for the final camp on the Glitter Strip, with as many as five invited to Florida for a chance to follow in Mailata's giant footsteps.
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"This is a great initiative from the NFL," Mailata said in the program's promotional video.
"It will provide so many players from back home, who thought there was no pathway to the NFL, a real chance of making it.
"Last November I started my journey and last week I played my first NFL game for the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a real rush, an unbelievable experience."
