South Auckland will be represented at an international NFL combine in London next month with Lance Leota and Shawn Tuione taking part.
A total of 50 athletes from 14 countries will take part in the try out that unearthed former South Sydney Rabbitohs league player-come Philadelphia Eagles star Jordan Mailata.
For Leota, a former South Auckland Raiders star, getting picked up would be a reward for all the work he has put in and for some of the sacrifices he’s made.
“I haven’t found the word for that yet, but a whole lot of joy, a whole lot of joy. A lot of weight off my shoulders – I can’t wait,” Leota told One News.
“That’d be so exciting, you have no idea man, that would be my dream. That would be everything ticked off the box.”
Leota, a defensive end, has been playing for the Leipzig Kings in Germany. He had been on the path to the NFL with a successful junior career in the United States but he opted to come home when his mother got ill and stayed on to help his father out after she passed away in 2017.
Defensive lineman Tuione, originally from Auckland but based in Hawaii these days, will also try out.
New Zealand’s most famous NFL product, former Pukekohe High School student David Dixon played 11 seasons in the NFL – most famously for the Minnesota Vikings.
Recent Comments