Hounds heap record defeat on frozen Free Jacks

The stakes weren’t quite the same as July’s Eastern Conference Final, but the Chicago Hounds exacted a partial measure of revenge by routing the defending champions 36-7 at a frosty SeatGeek Stadium on Sunday. It took 76 minutes for New England to find the scoreboard, with the 29-point margin of defeat the largest in franchise history.

From the get-go things were bad for the visitors. Adriaan Carelse landed a penalty from near halfway just three minutes in, and a penalty try was awarded when the Hounds pack put New England’s scrum on roller skates. The first opportunity to reply for the Free Jacks went begging as an obstruction at the lineout allowed Chicago to find safety through Carelse’s boot.

Ollie Devoto’s clean break up the middle put the Hounds on the front foot and the Free Jacks defense couldn’t recover in time to stop Dylan Fawsitt from offloading to Michael Hand for the finish. Fawsitt would be forced off soon after with a head knock, with Wian Conradie trudging off for New England. An overlap was created in the 40th minute but Noah Brown’s cover tackle knocked the ball out of Killian Coghlan’s arms as the Free Jacks fullback was diving over the line.

Mason Flesch saw yellow for an illegal clearout near the 50-minute mark, and New England seemed to catch a break with Joe Johnston slid into the corner on the end of an overlap. The would-be try was scratched off the board however as the video review showed Johnston’s hand sliding into touch a split-second before the grounding. At the other end Carelse was held up over the line after carving clean through the midfield defense.

Paula Balekana was binned for a swinging arm challenge that sent Carelse to the sidelines for an HIA, and then Brock Webster left New England with only 13 men when the winger saw yellow for a deliberate knock-on. The TMO review determined that a penalty try was also in order and the score now read 22-nil to the home side.

Both teams emptied their benches for the final minutes. Devoto stepped past three defenders to make it 29-nil for Chicago, before the Free Jacks finally broke their duck with Jayson Potroz sliding home under the posts after several phases. The last say would appropriately go to the Hounds, as Noah Brown rounded the corner to touch down for a seven-pointer with one minute left on the clock.

Next weekend will see both teams playing on the road. Chicago have a short turnaround as they face the Miami Sharks in Fort Lauderdale on Friday night. New England to the pacific northwest where the Seattle Seawolves will be waiting on Saturday.

CHICAGO 36
Tries (5) – Penalty try 2 (8′, 67′), M. Hand (27′), O. Devoto (69′), N. Brown (79′)
Cons (4) – No kick 3 (8′, 67′, 79′), C. Carelse 0/1, C. Hilsenbeck 1/1 (70′)
Pens (1) – A. Carelse 1/1 (3′)
YC (1) – M. Flesch (49′)

NEW ENGLAND 7
Tries (1) – J. Potroz (76′)
Cons (1) – No kick (76′)
YC (2) – P. Balekana (64′), B. Webster (67′)

CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti (17 Liam Fletcher 59′), 2 Dylan Fawsitt (16 Jackson Zabierek 32′), 3 Paddy Ryan (18 Ignacio Péculo 49′), 4 James Scott (19 Conall Boomer 67′), 5 Hamish Bain, 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Lucas Rumball (capt.) (20 Luke White 65′), 9 Mitch Short, 10 Adriaan Carelse (22 Christopher Hilsenbeck 64′), 11 Julián Domínguez (21 Michael Baska HT), 12 Ollie Devoto, 13 Bryce Campbell, 14 Noah Brown, 15 Michael Hand (23 Noah Flesch 55′)

NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Malakai Hala-Ngatai (17 Tevita Sole 64′), 2 Andrew Quattrin (16 Foster DeWitt 59′), 3 Kaleb Geiger (18 Cole Keith 64′), 4 Piers von Dadelszen, 5 Sam Caird (20 Kyle Baillie 68′), 6 Jerónimo Gómez Vara, 7 Joe Johnston (capt.), 8 Wian Conradie (19 Conor Keys 28′), 9 John Poland (21 Oscar Lennon 50′), 10 Jayson Potroz, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Wayne van der Bank, 14 Isaac Olson (23 Brock Webster HT), 15 Killian Coghlan (22 Harrison Boyle 70′)

Date: Sunday, March 2
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview
Kickoff: 13:00 local
Weather: sunny, 34°F (1°C), wind W 6-9mph (10-14km/h)

Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistants: Shanda Assmus (Canada) & Miles McIvor (USA)
TMO: Mike Kelly (USA)