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Seattle’s early-season woes continued on Saturday night as they fell short against the Warriors at Starfire Stadium. The Seawolves sprung to life in the final quarter, but by then Utah had already racked up a 21-point lead and the final score read 30-27 to the visitors.
An early score went the way of the Warriors when Joel Hodgson exploited a gap between two forwards and swerved past the cover for a fine individual effort. Eddie Fouché got the Seawolves on the board with a penalty goal, but another attack from the home side was foiled with Riekert Hattingh was stopped just short and Utah turned the ball over.
More time in Utah territory yielded a second three pointer from Fouché, but a mistake on attack allowed the Warriors to take an expanded lead into the halftime break. Divan Rossouw threated on the outside but then gave the ball away to Hodgson, who sprinted 60 meters to grab his brace.
D’Angelo Leuila knocked over a penalty goal early in the second half, and Utah were almost instantly back in Seawolves territory. Liam Coltman crossed on the back of a driving maul to stretch the lead. A scrum won against the head then gave Leuila another shot at the posts which he duly converted to make it 27-6 to the Warriors with 25 minutes left on the clock.
Hattingh clawed some momentum back for Seattle when the captain crashed over just ahead of the second hydration break. Malacchi Esdale came on as a replacement and with his first touch of the ball, the winger showed his blinding pace with a sprint down the sideline to bring the Seawolves within a converted try of their guests.
With the clock ticking down the Seawolves conceded a penalty and Hodgson made them pay, slotting the three-pointer to again make it a two-score game. Seattle came back again and were awarded a penalty try when Spencer Jones stuck a hand out to break up a clear scoring opportunity. Jones spent the rest of the game in the bin, but the Seawolves couldn’t find the points they needed. One final assault looked promising until a knock-on stopped the momentum dead in its tracks.
Both teams will play at home next Saturday. The Seawolves welcome Anthem to the Pacific Northwest, while the Warriors square off against the defending champion Free Jacks.
| SCORING |
SEATTLE 27
Tries (3) – R. Hattingh (58′), M. Esdale (62′), Penalty Try (74′)
Cons (3) – E. Fouché 2/2 (59′, 63′), No kick (74′)
Pens (2) – E. Fouché 2/2 (11′, 24′)
UTAH 30
Tries (3) – J. Hodgson 2 (4′, 32′), L. Coltman (44′)
Cons (3) – D. Leuila 3/3 (5′, 33′, 45′)
Pens (3) – D. Leuila 2/2 (42′, 54′), J. Hodgson 1/1 (72′)
YC (1) – S. Jones (74′)
| LINEUPS |
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Cameron Orr (17 Njabulo Gumede 72′), 2 Kerron van Vuuren (16 Dewald Kotze 59′), 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss (18 Mason Pedersen 45′), 4 Rhyno Herbst, 5 Malembe Mpofu (19 Isaia Lotawa HT), 6 Huw Taylor, 7 Devin Short (20 OJ Noa 36′), 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith (21 Brock Gallagher 72′), 10 Rodney Iona, 11 Mika Kruse, 12 Eddie Fouché, 13 Divan Rossouw, 14 Toni Pulu, 15 Duncan Matthews (23 Malacchi Esdale 59′)
Not used: 22 David Busby
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Aki Seiuli (17 Fred Apulu 59′), 2 Liam Coltman (16 Tuvere Vugakoto 59′), 3 Tonga Kofe (18 Angus MacLellan 54′), 4 Frank Lochore, 5 Gavin Thornbury (capt.), 6 Bailey Wilso (19 Matt Jensen 65′), 7 Kalisi Moli (20 Reid Davis 59′), 8 Dylan Nel, 9 Zion Going (21 Logan Crowley 63′), 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Joe Mano, 12 D’Angelo Leuila (22 Paul Lasike 65′), 13 Kyle Brown, 14 Nic Benn, 15 Jordan Trainor (23 Spencer Jones 60′)
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 22
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 19:00 local
Weather: cloudy, 48°F (9°C), wind S 6-7mph (9-11km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada) & Morris Fuller (USA)
TMO: Mike Kelly (USA)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
