Michael Dickson has taken an early lead over fellow Australian NFL punter Cameron Johnston for selection in this season's Pro Bowl game.
The NFL released the top vote-getters from the first week of online fan voting for the January 27 game involving the league's best players.
The Seahawks's Australian punter Michael Dickson.Credit: AP
Voting concludes on December 13.
Dickson, after the extraordinary start to his debut season for the Seattle Seahawks, leads the ballot for the NFC division's punting spot.
Dickson is ranked first among all NFL punters with a net average of 43.9 yards a punt and has generated plenty of headlines with drop kicks and "perfect" punts stopping just outside the end zone like delicately-placed golf pitch shots.
Dickson has 51,852 fan votes.
The Philadelphia Eagles' Johnston is also in the hunt for the one NFC punting spot.
Johnston just trails Dickson with a net average of 43.0 yards per punt and has generated his own headlines, including shattering the image of punters being physically soft by manhandling New Orleans Saints returner Alvin Kamara last weekend with an aggressive tackle.
Australia's two other NFL punters, Lachlan Edwards (New York Jets) and Jordan Berry (Pittsburgh Steelers), will compete for the AFC's Pro Bowl punting spot.
The Cleveland Browns' Britton Colquitt leads the vote count for AFC punters with 66,746 votes.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, with 487,400 votes, leads all players in Pro Bowl balloting with Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes (459,325 votes) second overall, Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley (402,238 votes) third followed by Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner (384,643 votes) and New York Giants rookie running back Saquon Barkley (363,609 votes).
Fans can vote at NFL.com/ProBowlVote
The Pro Bowl game will be played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
The Pro Bowl teams will be determined by fan, player and coach votes, with each group comprising one-third of the vote pool.
AAP