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It’s the final home game of the season for Anthem on Sunday afternoon. While they enjoyed a positive start to the campaign, the Charlotte-based side have now slipped back to the bottom of the table with five consecutive defeats. The postseason is still mathematically possible, but it would take a rapid turnaround in form starting with a win over California – the team they famously beat to claim a first franchise victory in the season opener two months ago.
| FORM GUIDE |
6th, 2-6-0, Lost 5
05/23 – Anthem 7 vs 20 Free Jacks (Charlotte)
05/17 – Seawolves 57 vs 21 Anthem (Tukwila)
05/10 – Hounds 61 vs 26 Anthem (Bridgeview)
04/26 – Free Jacks 38 vs 26 Anthem (Quincy)
04/18 – Anthem 14 vs 31 Old Glory (Charlotte)
04/12 – Anthem 34 vs 25 Seawolves (Charlotte)
04/04 – Anthem 19 vs 33 Hounds (Charlotte)
03/28 – Legion 26 vs 39 Anthem (Irvine)
2nd, 4-4-0, Won 1
05/24 – Legion 42 vs 10 Old Glory (Sacramento)
05/16 – Legion 26 vs 36 Hounds (Moraga)
05/09 – Free Jacks 26 vs 21 Legion (Quincy)
04/26 – Old Glory 23 vs 36 Legion (Fairfax)
04/19 – Legion 38 vs 31 Seawolves (Los Angeles)
04/12 – Hounds 48 vs 24 Legion (Bridgeview)
04/04 – Legion 43 vs 5 Free Jacks (San Diego)
03/28 – Legion 26 vs 39 Anthem (Irvine)
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 8 | Baden Godfrey | Marques Fuala’au |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Ma’ake Muti | Tonga Kofe |
| 7 | Cyrille Cama | Ed Timpson |
| 12 | Nick Chan | Billy Meakes |
| 14 | Oscar Treacy | Corbin Smith |
| NOTES |
- Injured / unavailable – (Anthem) Payton Telea-Ilalio, Ramiro Gurovich, James Scott, Will Leonard; (Legion) Christian Poidevin, Cassh Maluia, Ryan James, Rory van Vugt
- Agustín Cavalieri has kept the faith with his Anthem side, making just one alteration despite the loss to New England… Baden Godfrey comes back in at No8 with Makeen Alikhan switching to the flank
- Anthem are again without three starting forwards… loosehead prop Payton Telea-Ilalio, hooker Ramiro Gurovich, and second row James Scott all played key roles in the historic win
- California enjoyed a one-sided win over DC last week but Steve Hoiles has still taken the opportunity to rotate his side, perhaps with an eye towards a postseason
- a victory will clinch a home Semi Final for the Legion, who are three points up on Seattle on the table
- Tonga Kofe, Ed Timpson, and Billy Meakes are rested this week… Ma’ake Muti comes in at loosehead prop with Michael Scott switching to tighthead… Cyrille Cama gets a first start of the season at openside flanker… Nick Chan stands in for Meakes in the midfield, having last appeared in the earlier loss to Anthem
| PREDICTION |
Weather won’t be a factor with cloudy but warm conditions forecast for kickoff. While the Legion have struggled for consistency this year, they were competitive against the Hounds and looked sharp against Old Glory. Anthem’s defense has been found wanting in recent weeks and while that improved somewhat against New England, they face a more dynamic opponent on Sunday. The Legion are out for redemption. California are favorites on the road in Charlotte.
| TEAMS |
ANTHEM RC
1 Alessandro Heaney, 2 Campbell Robb, 3 Alex Maughan, 4 Johan Momsen (co-capt.), 5 Sam Golla (co-capt.), 6 Moni Tonga’uiha, 7 Makeen Alikhan, 8 Baden Godfrey, 9 Karl Keane, 10 Luke Carty, 11 Erich Storti, 12 Tom Pittman, 13 Julian Roberts, 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Jordan Trainor
Replacements: 16 Seth Smith, 17 Elias Garza, 18 Oliver Kane, 19 Will Sherman, 20 Marques Fuala’au, 21 Zion Going, 22 Malacchi Esdale, 23 Dom Akina
CALIFORNIA LEGION
1 Ma’ake Muti, 2 Ben Sugars, 3 Michael Scott, 4 Ronan Murphy, 5 Jason Damm (capt.), 6 Lance Williams, 7 Cyrille Cama, 8 Ben Houston, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Coby Miln, 11 Joe Mano, 12 Nick Chan, 13 Cole Semu, 14 Oscar Treacy, 15 Steffan Crimp
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Declan Leaney, 18 Justus Tavai, 19 Keni Nasoqeqe, 20 Ale Lopeti, 21 Tas Smith, 22 Corbin Smith, 23 Matt Anticev
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, May 31
Venue: American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte
Kickoff: 16:00 local (13:00 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: cloudy, 79°F (26°C), wind S 6-9 mph (9-14 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports (International), WCCB Charlotte (Local)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Peter Pender (Canada)
Assistants: Luke Rogan (USA) & Emma Gallagher (Canada)
TMO: n/a
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (1) – Anthem 1, Legion 0
2026-03-28 – California Legion 26, Anthem RC 39 (Great Park Championship Stadium)
