“If you are ever going to get healthy and fit, it’s for the Super Bowl, and it’s in Arizona, where it’s not cold. At least, he’ll have the warm weather – we’ll see how it goes.

“When I watch Philly, all I do is watch Jordan Mailata the whole time. And then when we get on four down, I watch for the punts. It’s pretty cool to watch – Jordan might be the best in his position in the country now. He is huge. The last game against San Francisco, the guy [his opponent] just gave up. He was trying to block. There were times when Jordan was just there, and he is like: ‘I can’t even see the quarterback. He is that big.’”

Rocca, the former Collingwood and North Melbourne forward who spent 2007-10 with Philadelphia and 2011-13 with Washington, has also kept a close eye on Siposs.

“I hope he can play. I actually hope he knows now whether he is playing or not. It’s just the waiting, but they may only make that call in the last couple of days,” Rocca said.

Rocca had been a goal-kicking coach at Carlton before linking with Puntfactory.

Four of the company’s prospects include Nick McLarty, 19, who played in the NAB League with the Oakleigh Chargers but had his season ruined by injury last season. Bennett says the 200-centimetre McLarty has an “NFL leg”. Riley Hubbard, 21, Chevy Edwards, 24, and Adam Jacklin, 24, are also eying college scholarships this year. All are working on penetration and craft, including spirals, bananas and pocket and drive punts, understanding the need to kick within 1.4 seconds of taking possession in college football, and 1.25 seconds in the NFL.

Former Los Angeles Raider turned AFL convert Dwayne Armstrong, who had two seasons with Essendon under Kevin Sheedy, is also involved in a program rivalling Nathan Chapman’s Prokick.

Bennett said fulfilling academic criteria was crucial to what his program stood for, while he and Rocca also helped support players locally and when in the US, with Bennett having an “open door” policy.

“I retired in 2005 and I already had young guys trying to contact me. Mat McBriar was the first guy – Mat went to the University of Hawaii, then played 10 years with the Cowboys, probably one of the best Aussies who ever played. He was way better than me,” Bennett said.

“It had put us on the track of trying to support those young boys. We know America is a long way from home. We [Bennett and wife Rosemary] have had over 100 guys stay with us, including Sav Rocca, since I retired.”

Amid the bushy surrounds, the bellbirds and a visit from a kookaburra, McLarty, Hubbard, Edwards and Jacklin were like sponges when Bennett and Rocca spoke, the pair tinkering with techniques and whispering the nuances of a craft many don’t fully understand. All know it’s a punt they are taking – but one worth doing.

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