FORMER St Kilda, Williamstown and almost Wonthaggi Power forward, Arryn Siposs, 30, is nothing if not honourable.
Having signed a contract with Power, to play and assist with coaching for the princely sum of $20,000, ahead of the 2018 season, he told the club he was prepared to honour the deal, even after being offered a scholarship as a punter at Auburn University, in Alabama, one of the South's largest universities.
Ultimately, Power released him and the rest, as they say, is history.
"He came down for the interview and said he had tried out for a scholarship in the US but didn't expect to get it and was ready to go for us," said Wonthaggi Power President at the time, Peter Liddle.
"He came down a few times and trained with us and two weeks later got the call, offered a schlorship in America,
"He stopped training but still came down and attended our two first games, including one against Leongatha that year.
"He wasn't sure what to do but I spoke to him and said it was the opportunity of a lifetime, and he had to go.
"It was bad luck for us but good luck for him. And good on him for making such a success of it. We wished him well and still do," said Liddle.
Siposs had a stellar two years at Auburn, so much so that he nominated for the NFL draft after just two years at college, instead of three. He had a stint at Detroit as an undrafted free agent and then moved to the Philadelphia Eagles, for whom he first played in 2021.
Today he runs out at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona in the famous midnight green, silver and black of the Eagles in Superbowl LVII, starting at 10.30am AEST.
But, at the time he was signed to Wonthaggi Power, the club badly needed a lift.
After playing off against Morwell in the 2014 Gippsland League grand final, they finished fourth (2015), seventh (2016) and eighth (2017) and hoped to arrest the slide by signing the 189cm former St Kilda player, and attracting a few others to start the climb again.
His signing was universally acclaimed, by Power supporters and opponents alike, creating quite a buzz in November 2017 when the recruiting coup was announced.
Most called it a “good signing”, some said it was “huge” and even enigmatic Maffra full forward Daniel Bedggood conceded Siposs would be “handy”.
But it wasn’t to be. Siposs sailed off into a new NFL dawn and the Power, it must be said, went the other way, finishing last in 2018, beaten twice by Leongatha and suffering a couple of fearful drubbings at the hands of Maffra and Sale that year.
Rubbing salt into the wounds, their arch-rivals Leongatha won the flag in 2018.
There’s little doubt that the “one that got away” cost Wonthaggi Power much of its momentum ahead of the 2018 season and they never really recovered.
Now, the almost Wonthaggi Power assistant coach is on the brink of greatness, at the top of the biggest game there is, America’s National Football League expected to make upwards of $1.2 million in 2023, plus a $200,000 bonus if they beat the Kansas City Chiefs today.
Siposs almost missed out on joining Aussie teammate, left tackle giant, Jordan Mailata, in the big game.
After playing every game in 2022, including a post-season loss against Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he suffered what looked to be a season-ending ankle injury in December last year.
But, he battled his way back from the injury list to the main roster and it’s now “game on”.
“It’s been quite a journey,” Siposs told SEN last week. “It’s spanned over 12 years from being in the AFL as a 17-year-old to being delisted at 22 and not sure how it would pan out.
“You try and work your way back into the AFL system, but an opportunity came up to make a life over here [in America] potentially.
“Did I expect this to happen? Absolutely not. Was my dream to make the NFL? Absolutely. After that, everything else is a bonus. This is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.”
It’s a big deal and if Wonthaggi Power had even a small part to play in his success, then so bit it… go Eagles!
