When the Los Angeles Rams run out onto the MCG to take on the San Francisco 49ers on Friday, it’ll be exactly 21 years to the day since former Geelong captain Ben Graham made his American football debut as a punter for the New York Jets at Arrowhead Stadium.

“I said, ‘Pinch me then, and I say pinch me now’,” Graham told the Sunday Times.

Graham left a 219-game AFL career to showcase his legendary long bomb on the gridiron, and, back in 2005, the idea a Super Bowl favourite in the Rams would play their season opener, a divisional game no less, on Australian soil would’ve sounded bonkers.

“I would have never believed in my wildest dreams that we were going to host an NFL game,” Graham admitted.

“I’ve had the experience of playing an NFL game in London at Wembley Stadium, so I always thought that one day, if the game continues to grow internationally, that we could see a game in Australia.

“But, of course, there’s the logistic challenge of being the other side of the world - this will be the longest flight teams have had to take to play a regular season game.”

For those unfamiliar with the NFL, the short 17-game regular season (the NBA plays 82 games and MLB has 162 games) places immense significance on every contest and intra-division matchups even more so.

Especially when the division is the NFC West.

“We knew the Rams were going to be the home team at the MCG, then earlier this year they announced the 49ers as the opponent and it shook the NFL world, because it’s the first divisional game ever played internationally,” Graham explained.

“It’s the strongest division in football. It includes the Seattle Seahawks, the reigning Super Bowl champs. And the people that are going to the game are in for a treat because both teams are stacked with Super Bowl calibre rosters.

“And those watching around the world, particularly prime time Thursday night football in America; it’s going to be broadcast to over 250 million people, and Melbourne is going to be front and centre.

“I tell people here in Melbourne that you ain’t seen nothing yet. The NFL don’t do things by halves. This will feel like Super Bowl week. This will feel bigger than an AFL Grand Final.”

Graham is uniquely qualified to offer such as assessment having played in deciders for both sports.

First with the Cats, losing to Carlton in 1995, and then with the Arizona Cardinals in 2009, when Graham became the first Australian to play in a Super Bowl, losing to the Steelers.

Aussie behemoth Jordan Mailata went one better when he won a Super Bowl ring with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025.

Mailata’s victory against the Kansas Chiefs was a ratings success for the Seven Network, delivering a record reach of 2.6 million people.

The historic run continued this year when Sydney’s Michael Dickson, the highest paid punter in the NFL, made it back-to-back Super Bowl winners for Australia when his Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots.

Graham, who co-hosts the NFL Tailgate program, which airs Friday and Monday on the Seven Network during the NFL season, has watched the game grow exponentially Down Under.

“More than 8 million people in Australia interact with the NFL in some way, shape, or form,” Graham said, citing the NFL’s own research.

“Whether that be through social media, watching a game online, watching a game on TV, listening to a podcast, going to a game live, playing fantasy football, having a dabble on it or playing flag football.

“ It’s a truly global game, and I think the next frontier for the NFL is actually having a franchise which is an international team, but where that will be and how that will look all remains to be seen.

“We’ll see maybe two games in Australia. Other cities may get the opportunity to host an NFL game. And I go back to the original question. Would I have thought 21 years ago, from my first game playing in the NFL, that a game would be played at the MCG? It’s surreal, it really is. And to be just a small part of that, I’m hugely proud and humbled.”

To ensure you are fully prepped for this historic moment in Australian sport, here are five key storylines ahead of the NFL showdown at the MCG.

THE QUARTERBACKS

The NFL is technically a team game, but no other professional sport is so dependent on the performance of a single position - the quarterback.

So, just get a good one and you’re laughing, right? It’s not that easy. Depending on which expert you ask, there might not be 15 quarterbacks ON THE PLANET capable of winning a Super Bowl.

Lucky for everyone us, two of the ones who could will be throwing passes at the MCG this week - Matthew Stafford from the Rams and Niners QB Brock Purdy.

Stafford already has a ring, and is the reigning MVP, while Purdy still has something to prove as a player who was literally taken dead last in the NFL Draft but has earned a massive contract through his play.

“These two men are at the top of their class when it comes to being a quarterback,” Graham agreed.

“They will assess the conditions the morning of the game to understand where the wind’s coming from, where the sun is coming from, but once that ball is kicked off, they will be truly locked in. They throw a spiral better than anyone.

“I tried to give Matthew Stafford some advice once when I played with him at the Detroit Lions, but it was about how to kick a football, because I wanted him to come and play in the AFL. But have a look at him now.”

COACHING BATTLE

There are a lot of great coaches in the NFL but the list of true difference makers, who can change the trajectory of a franchise regardless of the roster, are few and far between.

Rams head coach Sean McVay and his 49ers counterpart, Kyle Shanahan, are two such coaches.

Great mates off the gridiron, these fierce competitors are in an eternal battle to earn the title of best offensive mind in the game.

Shanahan has the head-to-head edge, 11-7, but McVay has a Super Bowl win, so that means he currently has bragging rights when the pair catch up in the offseason.

But it’s fair to say Shanahan has a better track record of doing more with less, consistently winning games with a roster that seems perpetually plagued by injuries (google “49ers substation theory”).

TRAVEL PLANS

The longest road trip in NFL history requires careful logistics, and the drastically different approaches of the two teams may play a huge part in determining the outcome.

San Francisco arrived on Friday. The Rams won’t touch down in Melbourne until the day before the game to keep their body clocks on US time as much as possible.

“Personally, I think it does favour the way the 49ers are travelling, the ability to acclimatise to Melbourne, embrace their fans ... so, if I’m a player, I would prefer the 49ers’ travel plans,” Graham revealed.

“This is very similar to what I did when I was playing for the New Orleans Saints in London, where we arrived the week prior to the game. We practised, we acclimatised, we were involved in charity events, local functions to continue to grow the game in the UK, and then we went on to win the game, and we felt like that was the best preparation.

“Now, I’ve met with the Los Angeles Rams last November, and I did an interview and spent some time with their equipment staff and their high performance and sports science staff around their philosophy of travel.

“They will be coming ready. They’ve been through a whole pre-season, a whole training camp. They will be ready to go. They will be ready mentally. It’ll just be about how their bodies acclimatise in such a short space of time.

“If they win, it won’t be talked about. If they lose, it definitely will be talked about.”

X-FACTORS

Both teams are absolutely stacked with superstars on contracts that dwarf the salary cap of an entire AFL team.

If we look past the QBs, perhaps no great X-Factor could be the presence of future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald, who came out of retirement last week for the chance to rejoin the Rams and play with offseason trade acquisition Myles Garrett.

If AD takes the field with Garrett, who inherited Donald’s crown as the best defender in football, it’s game over. However, we just don’t know if Donald will be back in action for Week 1.

Even without him that defence is scary.

On the other sideline, the Niners hope niggling training camp injuries to offensive stars Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans and George Kittle are in the past, but don’t sleep on rookie wideout De’Zhaun Stribling, who has generated a ton of buzz.

WHO WINS

Never before in NFL history has a team fielded both the reigning MVP and the defensive player of the year (Garrett), so, on paper at least, the Rams look like they have the edge.

“They are stacked both sides of the ball,” Graham agreed. “It’s no wonder that they’re Super Bowl favourites.”

But you don’t play games on paper, and there’s no getting around the fact Stafford is a 38-year-old quarterback who is playing a game on the opposite side of the world.

If Niners defensive end Nick Bosa is fully back from injury and terrorising a Rams offensive line that is not without question marks, anything can happen.

And don’t discount Shanahan’s ability to scheme up something fiendish to test the LA defence to its limits.

The 49ers need a lot of “what ifs”, while the Rams just need to play to their ability.

“And they’re the home team at the MCG,” Graham added.

“So, if they do what they’re expected to do and win the game, they will depart back to the US with a whole lot of new fans here in Australia.”

Rams vs 49ers airs on Friday from 8.35am on Seven and 7plus Sport. You can catch Ben Graham on NFL Tailgate.