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Two heavyweights will collide at Starfire Stadium on Saturday evening in a rematch of the 2019 Semi Final. The Seattle Seawolves won both of their home matches against the Toronto Arrows last season and after losing their first two matches of the 2020 campaign have a point to prove.
There are mixed fortunes for Seattle as Andrew Durutalo and FP Pelser drop out but there is a welcome return for starting hooker Stephan Coetzee. Jeremy Lenaerts comes into the second row with Eric Duechle getting his first start of the season on the blindside flank.
A notable change sees Shalom Suniula starting in the No10 shirt with Scott Dean dropped to the bench. Jeff Hassler returns from injury to start form an all-Canadian midfield alongside George Barton, and Siti Tamaivena replaces David Busby on the left wing.
The Arrows are reeling from the loss of outstanding lock Mike Sheppard to suspension following his late send-off against Houston. Kolby Francis is handed the start with Tom van Horne making his first appearance of the season on the bench.
Jamie Mackenzie is ruled out, joining Spencer Jones and Gastón Mieres on the sidelines, but Leandro Leivas is fit to start on the left wing. Andrew Ferguson moves into the starting scrumhalf role with Riley DiNardo called up to the the reserves.
This is one of the most intriguing match-ups of the weekend. Seattle are 0-2 and desperate to get a win while the Arrows are undefeated to start their campaign. The two sides know each other well – there are six Canadians starting for the Seawolves. On form Toronto are clearly ahead but they have yet to win at Starfire and the loss of Sheppard is significant. The scales rest on a knife edge.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 10pm Eastern. CBS Sports Network will feature the game nationwide with TSN Direct broadcasting in Canada. Those located elsewhere can access the live stream on the official MLR Facebook page.
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Djustice Sears-Duru, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 4 Jérémy Lenaerts, 5 Brad Tucker, 6 Eric Duechle, 7 Nakai Penny, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 JP Smith, 10 Shalom Suniula, 11 Siti Tamaivena, 12 George Barton, 13 Jeff Hassler, 14 Brock Staller, 15 Mat Turner
Replacements: 16 Mike Shepherd, 17 Kellen Gordon, 18 Tim Metcher, 19 Taylor Krumrei, 20 Vili Toluta’u, 21 Scott Dean, 22 Joey Iosefa, 23 David Busby
TORONTO ARROWS
1 Richie Asiata, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Cole Keith, 4 Kolby Francis, 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Tomás de la Vega, 7 Lucas Rumball, 8 Manuel Diana, 9 Andrew Ferguson, 10 Tayler Adams, 11 Leandro Leivas, 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Dan Moor (capt.), 15 Sam Malcolm
Replacements: 16 Steven Ng, 17 Pat Lynott, 18 Tyler Rowland, 19 Tom van Horne, 20 Peter Milazzo, 21 Riley DiNardo, 22 Will Kelly, 23 Johnny Sheridan
Date: Saturday, February 22
Venue: Starfire Stadium, Seattle
Kickoff: 19:00 local (22:00 Eastern)
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Robin Kaluzniak (Canada) & Denny Russell (USA)
Broadcasts: CBS Sports Network, Facebook, TSN Direct
