MLR 2024 Western Conference Final: Seattle Seawolves vs Dallas Jackals

It’s a third consecutive Western Conference Final for the Seattle Seawolves, who knocked out their historic rival San Diego last week. This time the two-time champions face a new playoff opponent in the upstart Dallas Jackals, who shocked the Major League Rugby community by defeating the regular season-leading SaberCats in Houston to reach their first Final Four.

FORM GUIDE

11-5-0 regular season, West 2nd, Last 5: 3-2, Streak: Won 1

6-10-0 regular season, West 4th, Last 5: 2-3, Streak: Won 1

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

7 Pago Haini replaces Devin Short
11 Jade Stighling replaces Toni Pulu
13 Tavite Lopeti replaces Duncan Matthews (No15 vs San Diego)
14 Conner Mooneyham replaces Lauina Futi

1 Liam Murray replaces Joaquín Horcada
5 Lucas Bur replaces Javon Camp
7 Ben Fry replaces Ronan Foley

CAPPED INTERNATIONALS

(7) – Taufete’e, Smith, Lopeti, Mooneyham, Wenglewski, Rees (USA), Rossouw (Namibia)

(5) – Murray, Kotze, Benn, Steeves (Canada), Zeiss (Argentina)

NOTABLE ABSENTEES

– Peter Malcolm (HO), Charles Elton (FL), Kara Pryor (FL), Devin Short (FL), Riekert Hattingh (N8), Tevita Kuridrani (CE)

– Sam Golla (LO), Ronan Foley (FL/N8), Mitch Richardson (CE), Vaughen Isaacs (FB)

NOTES

after five consecutive defeats at the hands of the Seawolves, the Jackals finally got a win over Seattle in a low-scoring affair in Arlington two months ago… a match that saw Seattle skipper Riekert Hattingh falling to a season-ending Achilles injury
the Seawolves will be without four players who started against the Legion… the most impactful might be workhorse flanker Devin Short… Pago Haini steps in, known more for his strength in the collisions
Jade Stighling and Conner Mooneyham show off Seattle’s strength in depth on the wing… Tavite Lopeti comes into the midfield with Divan Rossouw dropping back to his more familiar fullback spot
Dallas are boosted by the returns of Liam Murray, Lucas Bur, and Brock Gallagher to the match day squad but remain without Sam Golla and Mitch Richardson… Ronan Foley joins the duo on the absentee list with Ben Fry getting the start on the flank
the Jackals are forced to travel but did have an extra day to rest having played against the SaberCats last Saturday, while the Seawolves were in action on Sunday

PREDICTION

Do the Jackals have it in them to cause another upset? The energy might be there, but Starfire Stadium’s narrow pitch poses another puzzle for the coaches to solve. On paper the Dallas lineup looks slightly stronger this week, though Foley is a loss. Similarly the Seawolves will miss Short’s industry but they remain a formidable opponent. Both regular season games were incredibly close and this should be no different. The Seawolves get the edge in experience. Seattle are slight favorites at home.

LINEUPS

SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Cameron Orr, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 3 Sam Matenga, 4 Rhyno Herbst, 5 Mahonri Ngakuru, 6 Jean Droste, 7 Pago Haini, 8 Huw Taylor, 9 JP Smith (capt.), 10 Mack Mason, 11 Jade Stighling, 12 Dan Kriel, 13 Tavite Lopeti, 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Divan Rossouw

Replacements: 16 Jackson Zabierek, 17 Chance Wenglewski, 18 Koby Baker, 19 Isaia Lotawa, 20 Reid Davis, 21 Ryan Rees, 22 Sam Windsor, 23 Jeremiah Sio

DALLAS JACKALS
1 Liam Murray, 2 Dewald Kotze, 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Jerónimo Gómez Vara (capt.), 5 Lucas Bur, 6 Makeen Alikhan, 7 Ben Fry, 8 Sam Tuifua, 9 Juan-Dee Oliver, 10 Martín Elías, 11 Nic Benn, 12 Connor Winchester, 13 Tomás Cubilla, 14 Jason Tidwell, 15 Tomás Malanos

Replacements: 16 Connor Grindal, 17 Tomás Bekerman, 18 Kyle Steeves, 19 Javon Camp, 20 Daemon Torres, 21 Brock Gallagher, 22 Marques Fuala’au, 23 Joeli Tikoisuva

MATCH INFO

Date: Sunday, July 28
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Tukwila
Kickoff: 13:00 local (15:00 Central, 16:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 72°F (22°C), wind SW 7-11mph (11-18km/h)
Broadcasts: Fox Sports 1, The Rugby Network