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Two teams picked up their first wins of the season over the weekend. Sammy, er, Toronto denied Chicago, and the Gold finally delivered on expectations. San Diego shut down Dallas, New England won a battle against DC, and the Seawolves are now swimming ahead of the pack.
1 – Rob Cobb (Houston SaberCats) Both looseheads in Seattle played well. Mzamo Majola was a standout for the Seawolves, but we’ve opted for his opposite number. Cobb won a key turnover that very nearly resulted in a try, but then scored one for real later in the game.
2 – Ramón Ayarza (Toronto Arrows) Peter Malcolm went well for Seattle, and Nic Souchon scored a brace for DC. In terms of overall contribution we prefer Ayarza, who played over 70 minutes in a dominant Arrows scrum and also provided plenty of hard yards with ball in hand.
3 – Juan Pablo Zeiss (Dallas Jackals) His team didn’t come away with any points but it wasn’t for lack of effort from the Argentine stalwart. Dallas hammered San Diego in the scrum for the best part of 50 minutes with Zeiss at the heart of four penalties won.
4 – Ben Landry (Seattle Seawolves) One of two players to get their third selection of the season. Landry’s physicality has been an essential factor in Seattle’s defense. Rhyno Herbst is also playing well, and Ben Mitchell has been resigned to bench duty as a result.
5 – Ben Grant (San Diego Legion) Also another impressive outing from the San Diego lighthouse. He even set up a try for Tupou Afungia with a clean line break early in the first half. The Legion’s locks have been class this season and they are yet to unleash Tom Franklin!
6 – Marno Redelinghuys (Houston SaberCats) Honorable mention to San Diego’s Dan Pryor and DC’s Lautaro Bavaro. The Warlord got a run on the flank for the first time since the 2021 season and he absolutely loved it. Put in a huge number of rib-tickling tackles.
7 – Maclean Jones (Chicago Hounds) Just like Lance Williams last week, we’ll forgive his yellow card given the impact he made for the rest of the game. Jones was tireless on both sides of the ball. He got credit for a try on a lineout drive and was the man on the spot to win a penalty try before that.
8 – Tom Florence (NOLA Gold) There was tough competition this week from Seattle skipper Riekert Hattingh and New England’s Wian Conradie. Florence was not to be denied, however, for another tremendous all-around performance for the Gold. This time it came with a victory.
9 – John Poland (New England Free Jacks) His team seem determined to throw the game away but Poland steadied the ship as best he could. Scored one try and it was his speed of delivery that saw the Free Jacks score five all told. NOLA’s Luke Campbell was another standout.
10 – Sam Malcolm (Toronto Arrows) Cometh the hour, cometh the Malcolm. Two tries, six kicks, 27 points all told. His team played 30 minutes down a man and yet came out on top. Pure majesty.
11 – Paula Balekana (New England Free Jacks) Ed Fidow was a rare bright spot for New York, but we’ll tip the cap to Balekana. He showed his pace with a fine finish for one try, and then got a second soon after in close support of Wayne van der Bank.
12 – Jordan Jackson-Hope (NOLA Gold) Had a couple rough outings to start the season but seems to have hitting his stride. Jackson-Hope is among the smallest centers in MLR but his tackling against New York was excellent. On attack he kept the defense guessing with a mix of running and distributing.
13 – Ben LeSage (New England Free Jacks) Took a silly penalty in the heat of the moment, but otherwise LeSage was excellent with a textbook inside line resulting in a try on the stroke of halftime. Toronto’s Tautalatasi Tasi enjoyed his first game alongside Noel Reid.
14 – Gerrie Labuschagne (Houston SaberCats) Didn’t quite get the try he was searching for but he was a threat every time he touched the ball. Mitch Richardson played on the wing this week and created the first try for Malcolm, while also making a superb tackle that prevented a certain try… well almost.
15 – Duncan Matthews (Seattle Seawolves) The second three-time selection. If Matthews continues with this kind of form all season he’ll be a shoe-in for the Dream Team. Just seems to be in exactly the right place all the time. Mikey Te’o enjoyed himself in San Diego.
