Saverio Rocca and Chris Bryan have laid the foundations for Magpies in the NFL, but which of the current crop could make it as a punter?

The topic of switching codes was raised this week as an up-and-coming code-crosser joined Adam Treloar and Mark Allen on Collingwood Media vodcast ‘Sports Galore’.

Dane Roy was a country footballer from Bunyip, Victoria before he turned his life upside-down and became the starting punter for the Houston Cougars in the NCAA’s American Athletic Conference.

Roy picked up the sport at the late age of 27, leading Treloar to question which of his teammates could do the same when their AFL careers came to an end.

“Lynden Dunn. He’s a massive kick,” Treloar said.

“Tyson Goldsack is another one who can launch the ball.”
 
iTUNES: CLICK HERE to listen to the full episode of Sports Galore with Adam Treloar.

It’s a common sight at the MCG to see the Sherrin barrelling out of the Collingwood defensive 50. Treloar believes a ‘kick-off’ between Dunn, Goldsack, Brayden Maynard and Jeremy Howe would determine the club’s biggest boot.

However if any of the four would find success in the States, Roy is adamant they’d have to quickly adapt to American Football’s own style of ball.

“Kicking an Aussie footy is really, really easy, compared to this,” the Houston-based punter said.

“I’ve got a Sherrin in my locker and they (teammates) see me bouncing it on the ground and throwing it on the ground.

“I tell them it’s like a combination of rugby, basketball, soccer – everything. Everything combined in one with no pads and tackling 360 (degrees)." 

Roy found his fame through an unlikely twist of fate when he kicked a 73m torpedo at half time of the 2015 Grand Final between Hawthorn and West Coast.

Being the winner of ‘Australia’s Biggest Barrel’ saw him win a trip to the US, where a passion for college football was quickly formed.



Dane Roy punted 59 times in his first season for the Houston Cougars. Photo: Sports Illustrated.

The 27-year-old quickly traded local Aussie Rules for a crowd of 71,000 in his college football debut. He played 13 games in his debut season for Houston and will now enter his ‘sophomore’ year with aspirations of one day performing at NFL level.

Roy shared a number of captivating and quirky stories of his time in college football with Treloar and Allen on the latest edition of 'Sports Galore'.



Other topics are listed below, where you can also listen to the full vodcast.

- Punting in the States (0:30),
- A Shane Mumford connection (2:15),
- A Mike Pyke clone (3:15),
- From country footy to 70,000 fans (3:40),
- Teaching Americans AFL (5:30),
- When LeBron came to Houston (7:00),
- A future punter in Black and White? (10:40),
- An awkward lost in translation moment (11:20),
- What Ads said to Tom Mitchell? (12:25),
- Avoiding Bucks’ eyes at quarter time (13:30),
- A fight the world would watch (17:05),
- Lavish gifts (18:20) and more.