Los Angeles is a long way from eastern Victoria, but on Monday night two Australians from the same small patch of Gippsland took centre stage in the City of Angels.
Brett Thorson and Jordy Sandy both featured in the championship game of the American college football season — a match that attracts around 20 million viewers across the US.
Thorson was raised on a dairy farm in Dumbalk North in south Gippsland, while Sandy was raised less than an hour's drive away in Traralgon.
Both were talented Australian Rules footballers who changed to punting in American football, receiving full scholarships to attend college in the US.
Thorson's sister Kasey said Brett's journey from a small farming community to the biggest stage in college football was "unbelievable".
"I don't think we ever expected this. I don't think he ever expected it," she said.
"It's absolutely wild that there were two Gippsland kids in the national championship this year. I don't think a lot of people would understand just how big this is."
One punt in one-sided win
Thorson's team the Georgia Bulldogs won the match, securing their second consecutive national championship with a 65-7 victory against Sandy's Texas Christian University.
Thorson, 21, is in his freshman year at Georgia, and he punted the ball just once during the game, gaining 48 yards.
"I didn't really want him to punt, because if he's not punting, that means they're playing well," Kasey said.
"But he got one good punt, so we're super happy that he got one good punt and they won."
Sandy meanwhile punted the ball five times for an average of 37 yards for Texas Christian University, which was playing in its first championship game since the 1930s.
Jordy's mum, Sharon Sandy, said she was incredibly proud of her son for making it to the championship game.
"Win or lose, they are champions," she said.
"A lot of people didn't think they'd get there — it really is surreal."
How did they end up here?
Both Thorson and Sandy are part of a new wave of Australians succeeding at American football.
The duo both trained with Prokick Australia, which helps people transfer their skills from Australian rules football to American football.
Program founder Nathan Chapman said more than 200 people from Prokick had secured college scholarships in the United States since it started in 2007, with four currently playing professionally in the NFL.
"The evolution of the game has meant that being able to be skilful and kick a drop punt on the move, just like in the AFL ... is really valuable," he said.
"Catching, running and kicking a drop punt, we have plenty of talent in Australia that do that on a weekly basis.
"Both [Brett and Jordy] had a strong leg, could kick it 50 metres. Then just came the hard work and transition of learning the game, and putting that skill set in the US format."
