MLR Team of the Week

We were finally able to get our hands on the precious Seattle-San Diego footage and after a couple watches have put together a side from last weekend’s action. It would have been harsh to leave players from that game out considering what transpired. On the other hand we saw no compelling evidence to include anyone from the San Antonio match that stuttered its way through 80 minutes, a shame considering the picture-perfect setting at Toyota Field.

1 – Olive Kilifi (Seattle Seawolves) Started the game off with a bang as he belted Ryan Matyas straight off the kickoff. While many of his teammates were taking a breather, Kilifi was putting in a shift with some huge carries into traffic. If some of the others were as committed the result may well have been different.

2 – Chad Gough (Glendale Raptors) It wasn’t easy to pick this one with so many standouts. His opposite Eric Howard was a candidate after two tries for NOLA, and Stephan Coetzee equaled that mark for Seattle. Gough was electric in the loose, with a huge line break early in the match followed by an opportunistic try. He also won a critical turnover that frustrated the Gold when points looked imminent.

3 – Morgan Mitchell (Toronto Arrows) The rumbling, stumbling force of nature that has become an Arrows fan favorite. Crushed his opposite in the scrum and ran like a demon all game. Could probably afford to rein back the 50/50 passes but we’ll give him a free pass on that this time.

4 – Mike Sheppard (Toronto Arrows) At the heart of a dominant performance from the Arrows pack. Scored a sneaky try and showed soft hands in the movement that put Dan Moor into the corner. Had a lovely offload off the deck to Kolby Francis and another that sent Avery Oitomen off to the races.

5 – Brad Tucker (Seattle Seawolves) All over the pitch for the Seawolves, he certainly couldn’t be blamed for the defeat. Put in a brilliant try-saving tackle on Matyas, offloaded to Jérémy Lenaerts for a try, and even put in a cheeky grubber that bounced perfectly for Brock Staller.

6 – Psalm Wooching (San Diego Legion) Took a couple needless penalties in the first half but calmed down in the second and continued to make an impact. A regular lineout target and had several effective carries. Got up to take a high ball early and cut down Eric Duechle well behind the gainline. Jackson Kaka was Utah’s best forward and came under consideration.

7 – Peter Milazzo (Toronto Arrows) We’d be just as happy with teammate Lucas Rumball here but we’ll take Milazzo after an excellent performance against Utah. Has played every minute of the season for the Arrows thus far with his work rate proving indispensable. Against the Warriors he dominated the lineout, stealing two, and had a couple line breaks to go with his usual supporting role elsewhere.

8 – Hanco Germishuys (Glendale Raptors) His second week in a row at the back of the scrum, and this time in the proper jersey. Contributed exactly what you want from a ball-carrying eightman – a huge number of hard yards with men piled on his back. Even got a rare lineout steal.

9 – Nate Augspurger (San Diego Legion) The most influential player on the field in Seattle. Multiple line breaks including one from his own in-goal and controlled with his distribution. His defensive work was outstanding with two catches under the high ball and some quality tackles on big men Duechle and William Rasileka. Shaun Davies was also quality for the Raptors.

10 – Sam Malcolm (Toronto Arrows) Will Magie went well for Glendale, with both men at the top of their game in the kicking and passing department. Malcolm showed his versatility with a 10-minute cameo at scrumhalf, kicked 19 points from the tee, and even survived a brutal late hit from Utah lock Saia Uhila.

11 – John Ryberg (Glendale Raptors) NOLA saw what Glendale were missing the week before, as the monstrous left winger was back on the rampage at Infinity Park. ‘Watch Ryberg!’ could be heard on the referee’s mic, and for good reason. He took Tristan Blewett for a ride in the first half and broke free to send Davies in for a try.

12 – Robbie Petzer (Glendale Raptors) Adds a different dimension to the Raptors attack with his sharp distribution, while also a threat to both kick or take on the line. He kept the Gold defense guessing and broke clean through the middle on one attack. Took over the kicking duties to land the winning points.

13 – Tristan Blewett (NOLA Gold) A different sort of performance from the one we’re used to. Glendale did well to cut down his space but Blewett was still very active around the pitch, making short bursts over the gainline and more importantly putting huge pressure on the Raptors attack in defense.

14 – Tonata Lauti (Utah Warriors) We’ll describe the penalty try call as ‘questionable’ but Lauti did extraordinarily well to get there in the first place, and he scored a cracking try in the second half that left no room for debate. His performance was a throwback to last year when the Warriors were still challenging for a playoff spot.

15 – JP Eloff (NOLA Gold) Got over some early jitters to bring his team back into the game. Huge break from his own half nearly created a score. Another who showed his versatility by moving to flyhalf in the final quarter. Honorable mentions go to San Diego’s Mike Te’o and Toronto’s Gastón Mieres.