Dallas Cowboys duo Courtney Brown and Terence Newman made the perfect choice for their first live AFL match.

The NFL players are on holiday in Melbourne and were special guests at Sunday's blockbuster between St Kilda and Geelong at Etihad Stadium.

The Saints won the pulsating clash by six points in front of more than 54,000 fans, a record AFL crowd for Etihad Stadium.

As Brown drily observed: "If I didn't like that game, I didn't like the sport at all."

Brown, who plays safety, and Newman, a cornerback, also visited Collingwood on Tuesday and expressed amazement at the skills of the Australian game.

"Coming here, we thought the guys were going to be a lot smaller than what they were," Brown said.

Newman added: "it's similar to us, but they run a lot more than we do.

"They said (some players) run about 15 miles (roughly 20km) a game and the conditioning they have to have to do that is completely different.

"Our field is 100 yards long and 55 yards wide, so our conditioning is more like speedwork, where their's is endurance.

"Seeing guys who are that developed and are 18-20 years old, it was shocking to me."

Brown and Newman came to Melbourne on the advice of team-mate Mat McBriar, one of several Australians forging NFL careers as punters.

But after watching this year's two top teams battle on Sunday, Newman had no doubt that AFL players could succeed in other NFL roles as well.

"Some guys could play it on a playing level, not as punters - there are some guys who could play wide receiver, safety or corner back," Newman said.

"That says a lot about the talent here, for sure."

The two natural athletes have tried to master the art of drop punts, with kicking a rarity in the NFL.

"I actually did pretty good ... I might come down when my career in the NFL is over," Brown joked.

Brown and Newman agreed they could make a fist of playing in the AFL.

"I wouldn't say I could play as well as these guys, but as athletes, they could play our game and we could play their's," Newman said.

Then Brown chipped in: "It's easy to say that when you're watching from the stands - `I could have made that play'."

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