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Utah return home with back-to-back road wins under their belt when they take on the slumping New England Free Jacks on Saturday night. The defending champions have lost star playmaker Jayson Potroz to injury and are struggling to find any consistency. While the Warriors weren’t as dominant as their first two wins of the season, they will be seeking a much improved performance in front of their faithful after they flopped against the SaberCats earlier this month.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
4-1-0 (W2) West 3rd
2-3-0 (L1) East 3rd
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 4 | Matt Jensen | Bailey Wilson |
| 7 | Tamarau McGahan | Kalisi Moli |
| 12 | Spencer Jones | D’Angelo Leuila |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Tevita Sole | Malakai Hala-Ngatai |
| 2 | Connal McInerney | Andrew Quattrin |
| 3 | Kaleb Geiger | Cole Keith |
| 4 | Piers von Dadelszen | Conor Keys |
| 6 | Jeronimo Gomez Vara | Joe Johnston |
| 9 | Cam Nordli-Kelemeti | John Poland |
| 11 | Killian Coghlan | Paula Balekana |
| 14 | Brock Webster | Isaac Olson |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(11) – Seiuli (Samoa), Coltman (New Zealand), Jensen, Mano, MacLellan, Uhila, Wilson, Lasike (USA), Jones, Benn, Casey (Canada)
(11) – McInerney (Australia), Geiger (USA), von Dadelszen, Baillie, Webster, Quattrin, Keys, Morra (Canada), Conradie, Malan (Namibia), Koroiduadua (Fiji)
| CLUB DEBUTS |
(1) – McGahan*
(0) – none
* – MLR debut
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– D’Angelo Leuila (FH/CE)
– Sam Caird (LO), Jayson Potroz (FH), Paula Balekana (WI)
| PREDICTION |
Cold and wet weather is on the forecast which might in this case favor the Warriors. Greg Cooper has opted for his biggest pack of the season with Matt Jensen back in at lock and Tamarau McGahan making his debut on the flank. Despite a handful of key injuries the Free Jacks are still able to field a respectable lineup, but will need to keep their discipline to have any chance of winning in the Wasatch Mountains. Utah are favorites at home.
| LINEUPS |
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Aki Seiuli, 2 Liam Coltman, 3 Tonga Kofe, 4 Matt Jensen, 5 Gavin Thornbury (capt.), 6 Frank Lochore, 7 Tamarau McGahan, 8 Dylan Nel, 9 Zion Going, 10 Joel Hodgson, 11 Joe Mano, 12 Spencer Jones, 13 Kyle Brown, 14 Nic Benn, 15 Jordan Trainor
Replacements: 16 Phil Bradford, 17 Emerson Prior, 18 Angus MacLellan, 19 Saia Uhila, 20 Bailey Wilson, 21 Sam Reimer, 22 Paul Lasike, 23 Gabe Casey
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Tevita Sole, 2 Connal McInerney, 3 Kaleb Geiger, 4 Piers von Dadelszen, 5 Kyle Baillie, 6 Jerónimo Gómez Vara, 7 Jed Melvin, 8 Wian Conradie (capt.), 9 Cam Nordli-Kelemeti, 10 Harrison Boyle, 11 Killian Coghlan, 12 Le Roux Malan, 13 Wayne van der Bank, 14 Brock Webster, 15 Simon-Peter Toleafoa
Replacements: 16 Andrew Quattrin, 17 Malakai Hala-Ngatai, 18 Jone Koroiduadua, 19 Conor Keys, 20 Joe Johnston, 21 Oscar Lennon, 22 Faletoi Peni, 23 Josiah Morra
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 29
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman
Kickoff: 19:00 local (18:00 Pacific, 21:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: cloudy with showers, 39°F (4°C), wind NW 7-11mph (11-18km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, KJZZ, NBC Sports Boston, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: George Myers (Australia)
Assistants: Kahlil Harrison (USA) & Kevin Duran (USA)
TMO: Mike Kelly (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (5) – New England 3, Utah 2
2024-06-16 – New England Free Jacks 36, Utah Warriors 27 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2023-03-31 – Utah Warriors 26, New England Free Jacks 24 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2022-04-30 – New England Free Jacks 33, Utah Warriors 17 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2021-04-03 – New England Free Jacks 22, Utah Warriors 21 (Union Point Stadium)
2020-02-15 – Utah Warriors 39, New England Free Jacks 33 (Sam Boyd Stadium)
