The Aussie footy player hoping to become the NFL’s next big thing – despite playing just ONE game of first grade football in his career
- Ex-NRL player Laitia Moceidreke has joined the NFL’s Pathway program
- Moceidreke played one game for the Cowboys at the end of 2021
- He will try to follow in Jordan Mailata’s footsteps
Former North Queensland NRL winger Laitia Moceidreke will look to follow in Jordan Mailata’s footsteps after quitting rugby league to try his hand in the NFL.
Moceidreke was named on Tuesday as one of three Australians in the NFL’s 10-week International Player Pathway (IPP) development camp in Florida this season.
Wallabies flyer Jordan Petaia will also feature after being unveiled as one of the first attendees last week, as will Queensland club rugby player Laki Tasi.
The development camp is the same one Mailata went through in 2018 before being picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles as an offensive tackle.
Moceidreke’s story has similarities with that of Mailata.
They both came through the Canterbury junior system before moving elsewhere, with Mailata playing prop in the South Sydney U20s.
NRL winger Laitia Moceidreke has left rugby league to start a career in the NFL
Moceidreke played just one game for the Cowboys late in 2021
Moceidreke played one game on the wing for the Cowboys late in the 2021 season, netting a try against Parramatta in his only chance in the first grade.
He then moved to Newcastle but could not crack the Knights’ backline before his development deal with the club expired.
The 24-year-old will test as a tight end or defensive end and has been sold on his pedigree by the organizers, with his grandfather and father representing Fiji in athletics and rugby respectively.
Petaia will also try out at tight end, while Tasi is listed as an option on the offensive line.
Moceidreke, Petaia and Tasi will start camp next month, with only 14 players from around the world allowed into the IPP.
New Zealand basketball player Nathaniel Salmon and Fijian rugby player Jeneiro Wakeham are among others on the programme.
Scouts from all 32 NFL clubs will attend Pro Day at the University of South Florida in March.
About 41 international players have signed with NFL teams as a result of the program, but only six of those have ever claimed a spot on an active roster.
Moceidreke will look to follow in Jordan Mailata’s footsteps
Moceidreke’s former Cowboys teammate Valentine Holmes also went through the IPP and signed with the New York Jets practice squad in 2019.
However, he never played an NFL game, leaving the system after a preseason of limited opportunities and returning to the NRL.
Gold Coast VFL talent Patrick Murtagh followed a similar path last year, joining the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars from the IPP.
But he was sacked in August after breaking his ankle in training and not playing a match.
Jarryd Hayne’s transition to the NFL, where he played eight games for the San Francisco 49ers, predates the current program.