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It’s all on the line for New England on Sunday, as their playoff hopes rest on victory in Seattle. The defending champions have shown clear improvement in recent weeks, but the slow start combined with a poor showing against the Seawolves at home a month ago could see them missing out on the postseason entirely for the first time since the 2021 campaign.
| FORM GUIDE |
3rd, 4-4-0, Lost 1
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)
5th, 3-5-0, Won 1
05/23 – Anthem 7 vs 20 Free Jacks (Charlotte)
05/17 – Old Glory 24 vs 23 Free Jacks (Fairfax)
05/09 – Free Jacks 26 vs 21 Legion (Quincy)
05/03 – Free Jacks 11 vs 27 Seawolves (Quincy)
04/26 – Free Jacks 38 vs 26 Anthem (Quincy)
04/19 – Hounds 50 vs 26 Free Jacks (Nashville)
04/11 – Free Jacks 19 vs 21 Old Glory (Quincy)
04/04 – Legion 43 vs 5 Free Jacks (San Diego)
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| none | none |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Tevita Sole | Nate Sylvia |
| 2 | Kaleb Geiger | Sione Tupou |
| 3 | Maliu Niuafe | Filipe Vakasiuola |
| 8 | Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz | Ollie Aylmer |
| 11 | Killian Coghlan | Wayne van der Bank |
| NOTES |
- Injured / unavailable – (Seawolves) Dewald Donald, Ignacio Péculo, Harison Mataele, Mark Bennett, Rufus McLean; (Free Jacks) Reuben Palmer, Wayne van der Bank
- Allen Clarke has named an unchanged starting lineup… but Seattle’s thin roster combined with injuries leaves the coach few options… the only alterations are on the bench with Charlie Walsh and Michael Hand stepping in for Dewald Donald and Nolan Tuamoheloa as prop and wing cover respectively
- Ryan Martin has rotated his entire front row, while Jamason Fa’a’anana-Schultz gets his first start in Free Jacks colors at the back of the scrum… back row Jacob Norris is asked to play lock for the first time in his pro career with Martin prioritising mobility and work rate ahead of size and set piece strength
- Canadian international Andrew Quattrin is set for his first appearance of the campaign as a replacement… he was a late arrival after spending much of the season with Valence Romans in the French Pro D2… Quattrin was New England’s starting hooker last year but oddly appears to be covering tighthead prop on Sunday
| PREDICTION |
Weather won’t be a factor with sunny skies on the forecast. That could favor the Free Jacks, whose only path to victory will be through speed of attack. The Seawolves will play territory and back their set piece, but they could be vulnerable out wide with JP Smith again lining up out of position on the wing. Recent form suggests that New England have a fair chance of victory, but the home side are always buoyed by the Starfire faithful. Seattle are slight favorites at home in Tukwila.
| TEAMS |
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 Charlie Walsh, 18 LaRome White, 19 Liki Chan-Tung, 20 Tia’i Vavao, 21 Nick Boyer, 22 Dorian Jones, 23 Michael Hand
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Tevita Sole, 2 Kaleb Geiger, 3 Maliu Niuafe, 4 Jacob Norris, 5 Tayne Hemopo, 6 Bailey Wilson, 7 Joe Johnston (capt.), 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 9 Oscar Lennon, 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Killian Coghlan, 12 Kienan Higgins, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Nathan Salmon, 15 Mitch Wilson
Replacements: 16 Sione Tupou, 17 Kyle Ciquera, 18 Andrew Quattrin, 19 Ollie Aylmer, 20 Alex Mackenzie, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 Cameron Gerlach, 23 Harrison Boyle
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Sunday, May 31
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 18:00 local (21:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 64°F (18°C), wind N 9-13 mph (14-21 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports (International), Kong 6 (Local), NBC Sports Boston (Local)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
Assistants: Shanda Assmus (Canada) & Alex Nunnally (USA)
TMO: n/a
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (9) – Free Jacks 5, Seawolves 4
2026-05-03 – New England Free Jacks 11, Seattle Seawolves 27 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2025-06-01 – New England Free Jacks 37, Seattle Seawolves 30 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2025-03-08 – Seattle Seawolves 27, New England Free Jacks 24 (Starfire Stadium)
2024-08-04 – New England Free Jacks 20, Seattle Seawolves 11 (Snapdragon Stadium)
2024-04-20 – New England Free Jacks 21, Seattle Seawolves 29 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2023-06-11 – Seattle Seawolves 26, New England Free Jacks 34 (Starfire Stadium)
2022-04-09 – New England Free Jacks 24, Seattle Seawolves 22 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2021-06-13 – New England Free Jacks 25, Seattle Seawolves 21 (Union Point Stadium)
2020-02-29 – Seattle Seawolves 44, New England Free Jacks 29 (Starfire Stadium)
