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Seattle got the win they needed, but it wasn’t until the final quarter that they finally wore down Anthem en route to a 25-17 result on Saturday night. The Starfire faithful were left on edge as the committed visitors held a 7-3 lead at halftime, with a bit of individual magic from Malacchi Esdale securing a late four-try bonus for the Seawolves.
Anthem were on the attack from the start with Toby Fricker denied what looked a certain try by a last-ditch tackle from Rodney Iona. A yellow card was brandished to OJ Noa for a high tackle, and two minutes later Michael Ma’afu reached out of a tackle to put the visitors on the board. Iona managed to sneak over a penalty goal seconds before halftime to given Seattle a glimmer of hope.
A scrum penalty gave Iona another shot early in the second half, but this time his radar was inaccurate. Mitch Wilson made good with his own kick off the tee, but a mistake on the restart allowed Toni Pulu to fly into the corner. Iona delivered the sideline conversion to draw the scores level.
Two tries from Divan Rossouw in a span of five minutes saw the Seawolves pulling away. The first was on the end of a chip kick from Iona, while the second saw the Namibian international swerving through a gap on the line. Neither kick would be added, however, leaving it a 10-point lead.
Mason Pedersen was binned for a high tackle, and then Karl Keane was hit with the same sanction after what looked an innocuous collision. The extra space was just enough for Esdale to exploit, as the winger bobbed-and-weaved his way over for the bonus point. A late try from Jake Turnbull gave Anthem hope to earn a point themselves, but the clock would run out before another scoring opportunity emerged.
Both teams are back in action next Saturday. Anthem continue to search for a first franchise win against NOLA Gold in Charlotte, while the Seawolves head to the nation’s capital to take on Old Glory DC.
| SCORING |
SEATTLE 25
Tries (4) – T. Pulu (51′), D. Rossouw 2 (60′, 65′), M. Esdale (73′)
Cons (1) – R. Iona 1/3 (52′), E. Fouché 0/1
Pens (1) – R. Iona 1/2 (40′)
YC (2) – O. Noa (22′), M. Pedersen (69′)
CAROLINA 17
Tries (2) – M. Ma’afu (24′), J. Turnbull (77′)
Cons (2) – M. Wilson 2/2 (25′, 78′)
Pens (1) – M. Wilson 1/1 (49′)
YC (1) – K. Keane (72′)
| LINEUPS |
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Cameron Orr (17 Njabulo Gumede 74′), 2 Kerron van Vuuren (16 Dewald Kotze 69′), 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss (18 Mason Pedersen 49′), 4 Rhyno Herbst, 5 Isaia Lotawa (19 Siaosi Mahoni 49′), 6 OJ Noa, 7 Charles Elton (20 Devin Short 69′), 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith (21 Brock Gallagher 72′), 10 Rodney Iona, 11 Toni Pulu (22 Eddie Fouché 72′), 12 Dan Kriel (23 Malacchi Esdale HT), 13 Mika Kruse*, 14 Lauina Futi, 15 Divan Rossouw
*13 Mika Kruse was forced off at 76 minutes and could not be replaced
ANTHEM CAROLINA
1 Dan Hanson (17 Jake Turnbull 45′), 2 Connor Robinson (16 Ethan Howard 64′), 3 Alex Maughan (18 Stephan Bernal-Wendt 72′), 4 Alejandro Martinez Tapia, 5 Sam Golla (capt.), 6 Alby O’Shannessey (19 Rhys Mitchell 76′), 7 Makeen Alikhan, 8 Michael Ma’afu (20 Colin Turner 45′), 9 Karl Keane, 10 Cam Gerlach (21 Ishy Safodien 67′), 11 Jason Tidwell (23 EJ Freeman 57′), 12 Junior Gafa (22 Mateo Gadsden 49′), 13 Erich Storti, 14 Toby Fricker, 15 Mitch Wilson
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 29
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 18:00 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 52°F (11°C), wind W 2-8mph (3-13km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Marquise Goodwin (USA)
Assistants: Jacob Gonzales (USA) & Morris Fuller (USA)
TMO: Chris O’Malley (USA)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
