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Dallas return to Choctaw Stadium in search of their first home win of the season when Utah arrives on Friday evening. The Jackals have lost three in a row, two of them by less than 5 points, while the Warriors recovered from a poor start to defeat Anthem in Herriman last Friday.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
2-4-0 (L3) West 4th
2-3-0 (W1) West 5th
| LINEUP CHANGES |
5 Lucas Bur replaces Daemon Torres
14 Nic Benn replaces Marcell Muller
16 Connor Grindal replaces Liam Murray
19 Daemon Torres replaces Nic Benn
21 Brock Gallagher replaces Joeli Tikoisuva
1 Franco van den Berg rotates with 18 Paul Mullen
5 Saia Uhila replaces Onehunga Havili
10 Joel Hodgson rotates with 22 Robbie Povey
13 Spencer Jones replaces Sione Mahe
16 Phil Bradford replaces Tyler Wong
17 Emerson Prior replaces Tonga Kone
19 Louis Conradie replaces Jonah Dietenberger
20 Onehunga Havili replaces Kalisi Moli
23 Sione Mahe replaces Alesana Pohla
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(4) – Zeiss (Argentina), Golla (USA), Richardson, Steeves (Canada)
(10) – MacLellan, Jensen, Tu’avao, Mano, Lasike, M Kruse, Mullen (USA), Jones, Povey (Canada), Havili (Tonga)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(1) – Connor Grindal
(0) – n/a
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Liam Murray (LH), Jerónimo Gómez Vara (FL), Ben Fry (FL), Pedro Imhoff (SH), Martín Elías (FH), Tomás Cubilla (CE)
– Bailey Wilson (FL), Caleb Makene (FB)
| NOTES |
- former Toronto Arrows prop Connor Grindal will make his Jackals debut after being acquired from RFC Los Angeles… the Canadian-eligible loosehead prop was selected by Dallas in the dispersal draft but then dealt to LA prior to the season
- Dallas have largely kept the faith with the lineup that nearly toppled the Seawolves in Seattle… with Lucas Bur’s return requiring Marcell Muller to drop out to meet their match day import limit… Tomás Malanos keeps his place and is nominated as vice-captain
- Utah welcomes back Spencer Jones to the midfield after four games out… he pushes Mika Kruse to the wing with Sione Mahe dropping to the bench
- regular skipper Bailey Wilson is left out of the Warriors lineup for the third time in six games… it’s the second time this season he has been absent from the match day squad entirely… Joel Hodgson acts as captain, returning to the No10 shirt in place of Robbie Povey
- the Jackals have never beaten the Warriors in four times of asking… their first meeting was a then-record 69 points scored by Utah… last year’s results were both by 10 points or less
| PREDICTION |
Both teams sport losing records with two wins apiece, though Utah have a game at hand on their hosts. While Dallas arrive on a three-game losing skid, their last two defeats came down to the final play against the two highest-ranked overall teams in MLR. It took the Warriors 50 minutes to wake up against Anthem. A similar performance won’t be enough in Arlington. Dallas are slight favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
DALLAS JACKALS
1 Joaquín Horcada, 2 Dewald Kotze, 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Sam Golla (capt.), 5 Lucas Bur, 6 Ronan Foley, 7 Makeen Alikhan, 8 Sam Tuifua, 9 Juan-Dee Oliver, 10 Nazareno Valentini, 11 Tomás Malanos, 12 Connor Winchester, 13 Mitch Richardson, 14 Nic Benn, 15 Vaughen Isaacs
Replacements: 16 Connor Grindal, 17 Tomás Bekerman, 18 Kyle Steeves, 19 Daemon Torres, 20 Ronnie McElligott, 21 Brock Gallagher, 22 Marques Fuala’au, 23 Jason Tidwell
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg, 2 Nic Souchon, 3 Angus MacLellan, 4 Matt Jensen, 5 Saia Uhila, 6 Frank Lochore, 7 Dylan Nel, 8 Thomas Tu’avao, 9 Zion Going, 10 Joel Hodgson (capt.), 11 Joe Mano, 12 Paul Lasike, 13 Spencer Jones, 14 Mika Kruse, 15 Michael Manson
Replacements: 16 Phil Bradford, 17 Emerson Prior, 18 Paul Mullen, 19 Louis Conradie, 20 Onehunga Havili, 21 Kieran McClea, 22 Robbie Povey, 23 Sione Mahe
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Friday, April 12
Venue: Choctaw Stadium, Arlington
Kickoff: 18:30 local (17:30 Pacific, 20:30 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 77°F (25°C), wind S 12-18mph (19-29km/h)
Broadcasts: KMYU, KSL Sports, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Chris Assmus (Canada)
Assistants: Kat Roche (USA) & Blair McClure (USA)
TMO: Austin Reed (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (4) – Utah 4, Dallas 0
2023-05-13 – Dallas Jackals 26, Utah Warriors 36 (Choctaw Stadium)
2023-02-25 – Utah Warriors 33, Dallas Jackals 25 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2022-06-04 – Dallas Jackals 5, Utah Warriors 33 (Choctaw Stadium)
2022-03-05 – Utah Warriors 69, Dallas Jackals 22 (Zions Bank Stadium)
