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The Seawolves will be desperate to breathe life back into their campaign when they host the Hounds at Starfire Stadium on Friday night. It’s been a disappointing first half of the season for the 2024 finalists, with Seattle now 9 points back of LA for the final playoff spot in the West. Chicago meanwhile have catapulted to the top of the Eastern Conference with 6 wins in succession.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
2-5-0 (L1) West 5th
7-1-0 (W6) East 1st
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 3 | Mason Pedersen | Juan Pablo Zeiss |
| 6 | Huw Taylor | Malembe Mpofu |
| 14 | Lauina Futi | Jade Stighling |
| 15 | Duncan Matthews | Eddie Fouché |
|
IN | OUT |
| 2 | Janus Venter | Dylan Fawsitt |
| 3 | Charlie Abel | Ignacio Péculo |
| 6 | Luke White | Mason Flesch |
| 8 | Matthew Oworu | Maclean Jones |
| 9 | Michael Baska | Mitch Short |
| 12 | Noah Flesch | Ollie Devoto |
| 14 | Noah Brown | Julián Domínguez |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(9) – Noa, Iona (Samoa), Hattingh, Smith, Futi, Wenglewski (USA), Rossouw (Namibia), Kotze, Gallagher (Canada)
(12) – Pifeleti, White, Baska, O’Keeffe, Campbell, Brown (USA), Rumball, Oworu, Flesch, Higgins (Canada), Péculo (Uruguay), Hilsenbeck (Germany)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(0) – none
(1) – Kinneeveauk*
* – MLR debut
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Juan Pablo Zeiss (TH), Mika Kruse (CE/WI)
– Dylan Fawsitt (HO), Mason Flesch (FL), Ollie Devoto (CE)
| PREDICTION |
The two sides have taken different approaches in selection. It’s all hands on deck for the Seawolves, though regular No3 JP Zeiss is left out and Mika Kruse remains sidelined. The bye week will have helped preparation and given the likes of Dan Kriel a chance to rest. On the flipside Chris Latham, who knows the Seattle camp well, has handed several fringe Hounds a chance to make an impression heading into the upcoming ‘storm week’ fixtures. Don’t give up on the Seawolves just yet, but a loss on Friday would leave their playoff hopes hanging by a thread. Chicago are slight favorites on the road.
| LINEUPS |
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Cameron Orr, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 3 Mason Pedersen, 4 OJ Noa, 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Huw Taylor, 7 Charles Elton, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 Rodney Iona, 11 Toni Pulu, 12 Dan Kriel, 13 Divan Rossouw, 14 Lauina Futi, 15 Duncan Matthews
Replacements: 16 Dewald Kotze, 17 Chance Wenglewski, 18 Njabulo Gumede, 19 Isaia Lotawa, 20 Devin Short, 21 Brock Gallagher, 22 Eddie Fouché, 23 Malacchi Esdale
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 2 Janus Venter, 3 Charlie Abel, 4 James Scott, 5 Hamish Bain, 6 Luke White, 7 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 8 Matthew Oworu, 9 Michael Baska, 10 Tim Swiel, 11 Mark O’Keeffe, 12 Noah Flesch, 13 Bryce Campbell, 14 Noah Brown, 15 Michael Hand
Replacements: 16 Jackson Zabierek, 17 Liam Fletcher, 18 Ignacio Péculo, 19 Brad Tucker, 20 Conall Boomer, 21 Jake Kinneeveauk, 22 Jason Higgins, 23 Christopher Hilsenbeck
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Friday, April 18
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 19:30 local (21:30 Central, 22:30 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 60°F (15°C), SW 6-9mph (10-14km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Fox 13+ Seattle, Fox Chicago+, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: George Myers (Australia)
Assistants: Kahlil Harrison (USA) & Juan Pablo Parra (Colombia)
TMO: Mike Kelly (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (3) – Seattle 3, Chicago 0
2024-03-30 – Chicago Hounds 26, Seattle Seawolves 34 (SeatGeek Stadium)
2023-05-20 – Seattle Seawolves 35, Chicago Hounds 13 (Starfire Stadium)
2023-03-26 – Chicago Hounds 5, Seattle Seawolves 27 (SeatGeek Stadium)
