MLR 2026 – Seattle Seawolves vs California Legion – ARN Guide

Sunday night’s match in Seattle is a preview of next week’s Semi Final, but that doesn’t mean this contest is a dead rubber. Hosting rights are still up for grabs, and a win could be enough to give the Seawolves that honor. The Legion currently hold a three-point advantage and a big lead on differential. That presents multiple scenarios involving bonus points, but an outright victory the preferred target for the visitors.

3rd, 5-4-0, Won 1
05/31 – Seawolves 36 vs 28 Free Jacks (Tukwila)
05/24 – Hounds 57 vs 17 Seawolves (Bridgeview)
05/17 – Seawolves 57 vs 21 Anthem (Tukwila)
05/10 – Old Glory 25 vs 30 Seawolves (Fairfax)
05/03 – Free Jacks 11 vs 27 Seawolves (Quincy)
04/24 – Seawolves 22 vs 59 Hounds (Tukwila)
04/19 – Legion 38 vs 31 Seawolves (Los Angeles)
04/12 – Anthem 34 vs 25 Seawolves (Charlotte)
04/03 – Seawolves 33 vs 16 Old Glory (Tukwila)

2nd, 5-4-0, Won 2
05/31 – Anthem 26 vs 55 Legion (Charlotte)
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)

	IN	OUT
	none	none

	IN	OUT
2	Joe Taufete’e	Ben Sugars
3	Tonga Kofe	Ma’ake Muti
7	Ed Timpson	Ben Houston
12	Billy Meakes	Cole Semu
14	Corbin Smith	Oscar Treacy

• Injured / unavailable – (Seawolves) Dewald Donald, Ignacio Péculo, Harison Mataele, Mark Bennett; (Legion) Christian Poidevin, Ryan James
• Allen Clarke has named an unchanged starting Seawolves lineup for the third straight match following the bonus-point win over New England last week
• ex-Scotland and current Eagles winger Rufus McLean is included in a match day squad for the first time this season… the former SaberCats star has been sidelined since being injured during Seattle’s preseason trip to South Africa
• back row Kalisi Moli returns to give the Seawolves a conventional forward reserve, with usual hooker Liki Chan-Tung dropping out of the match day squad to make room
• Steve Hoiles has rotated his squad somewhat, with Eagles duo Joe Taufete’e and Tonga Kofe recalled in the front row… Michael Scott switches from tighthead to loosehead prop
• Ronan Murphy continues to pack down at lock, while Ed Timpson is recalled on the flank with Cyrille Cama switching to the back of the scrum this week
• Billy Meakes returns to the midfield and partners Nick Chan for the first time this season… Chan pushes to outside center… there are two centers in reserve in Cassh Maluia and Cole Semu
• for Seattle to earn hosting right for next week they need either a) bonus point win and hold the Legion to one bonus point or less, or b) win while preventing Legion from getting any bonus points… any other scenario sees the Semi Final played in California

Near-perfect conditions are on the forecast with no wind to speak of. California will want to play a much quicker game given their significantly smaller forward pack. The Seawolves meanwhile will target the set piece, with a clear height advantage in the lineout. A narrower Starfire pitch gives less opportunity for the Legion’s outside speed. It was a close match in LA and while the home side has a decent shot at victory, the question is whether they can also stop California from scoring four tries and claiming a losing bonus point. Seattle are slight favorites at home in Tukwila.

SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 2 Dewald Kotze, 3 Mason Pedersen, 4 Callum Botchar, 5 Rhyno Herbst, 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Paddy Ryan, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 André Warner, 10 Davy Coetzer, 11 JP Smith, 12 Dan Kriel, 13 Divan Rossouw, 14 Lauina Futi, 15 Duncan Matthews

Replacements: 16 Dewald Kotze, 17 LaRome White, 18 Charlie Walsh, 19 Kalisi Moli, 20 Tia’i Vavao, 21 Nick Boyer, 22 Dorian Jones, 23 Rufus McLean

CALIFORNIA LEGION
1 Michael Scott, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 3 Tonga Kofe, 4 Ronan Murphy, 5 Jason Damm (capt.), 6 Lance Williams, 7 Ed Timpson, 8 Cyrille Cama, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Coby Miln, 11 Joe Mano, 12 Billy Meakes, 13 Nick Chan, 14 Corbin Smith, 15 Steffan Crimp

Replacements: 16 Ben Sugars, 17 Ma’ake Muti, 18 Justus Tavai, 19 Keni Nasoqeqe, 20 Ale Lopeti, 21 Tas Smith, 22 Cassh Maluia, 23 Cole Semu

Date: Sunday, June 7
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 19:00 local (22:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 63°F (17°C), wind SE 4-7 mph (7-11 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports (International), Kong 6 (Local)

Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Shanda Assmus (Canada) & Marquise Goodwin (USA)
TMO: n/a

HEAD-TO-HEAD (1) – Legion 1, Seawolves 0
2026-04-19 – California Legion 38, Seattle Seawolves 31 (Los Angeles)