Lafoga Jordan Mailata is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League and a former rugby league player. He previously played rugby union for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs under-18 team and the South Sydney Rabbitohs under-20 team. He entered the NFL through the league’s International Player Pathway Program and was selected by the Eagles in the seventh round, 233rd overall in the 2018 NFL draft.

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Jordan Mailata grew up playing rugby union for the Bankstown Bulls, and was selected for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs U18 team in 2015. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are a professional rugby union team founded in in 1934 and joined the National Rugby League in Australia. It was during this competition that Mailata came to the attention of Ben Rogers, a recruitment agent for the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Mailata was then offered the opportunity to join the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ U20 team in 2017. The South Sydney Rabbitohs offered Mailata a one-year contract worth AU$5,000 to play for the North Sydney Bears. The North Sydney Bears had a partnership with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, in which they acted as the Rabbitohs’ reserve team. This partnership remained intact from 2007 until 2018, when the deal ended. Ultimately, Mailata turned down a contract from the South Sydney Rabbitohs. There was no disagreement between Mailata and the Rabbitohs following the contract offer, as Mailata stated “They gave me a chance. Without them, I wouldn’t be here”.