How viral kangaroo punch video made it to the NFL

One of the biggest viral videos of 2016 - an Aussie man who punched a kangaroo to save his dog - has made it all the way to the NFL.

Video of NSW zookeeper Greig Tonkins going toe-to-toe with the roo went global last week, and it caught the eye of New York Giants coach Ben McAdoo.

McAdoo was so taken with the footage he showed it to his players to try to motivate them.

"We had one with a man and a kangaroo. It's a video on the internet that's gone viral. The kangaroo had his dog in a headlock, and he bopped the kangaroo in the nose. It was a fist fight between the kangaroo and the man," McAdoo told the New York Post ahead of his team's showdown with the Cowboys on Monday.

Many players were reportedly mystified with the correlation between the video and their jobs, but Australian punter Brad Wing speculated that the message was "to not be scared".

"Just to rise to the opportunity and just kind of react, just play without thinking too much," Wing added.

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"Everybody has a plan about what they're gonna do and how they're gonna do it until they get punched in the face," star wide receiver Victor Cruz said.

"And I think that's what coach is trying to instill in us, that we need to come out firing, and see how they respond."

It appeared to do the trick for the Giants as they went on to snap Dallas' 11-match winning streak: