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The defending champion Free Jacks celebrate their home opener against a familiar foe on Saturday afternoon. Old Glory arrive for a rematch of the 2023 Eastern Conference Final, though the visitors on paper look a very different side. New England were comfortable winners over Anthem in Week 1 while DC came up short against NOLA.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
1-0-0 (W1) East 1st
0-1-0 (L1) East 5th
| LINEUP CHANGES |
1 Kyle Ciquera replaces Foster DeWitt
5 Kyle Baillie replaces Conor Keys (injured)
11 Paula Belakana replaces Danyon Morgan-Puterangi
14 Mitch Wilson replaces Zach Bastres
17 Foster DeWitt replaces Kyle Ciquera
18 Cole Keith replaces Kaleb Geiger
19 Jackson Thiebes replaces Kyle Baillie
21 Holden Yungert replaces Cam Nordli-Kelemeti
23 Danyon Morgan-Puterangi replaces Gabe Casey (injured)
1 Quentin Newcomer replaces Jack Iscaro
9 Ethan McVeigh replaces Connor Buckley
10 Jason Robertson replaces Gradyn Bowd
11 Ishmail Shabazz replaces Perry Humphreys (injured)
15 Gradyn Bowd replaces Jason Robertson
17 Jack Iscaro replaces Quentin Newcomer
21 Connor Buckley replaces Ethan McVeigh
22 William Talataina replaces Ishmail Shabazz
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(11) – Quattrin, Larsen, Baillie, LeSage, DeWitt, Keith, von Dadelszen, Olson (Canada), Sigren (Chile), Conradie (Namibia), Wilson (USA)
(8) – Rowland, Bowd (Canada), Harley (Scotland), Dotti (Uruguay), Fa’anana-Schultz, Daniel, Boni, Iscaro (USA)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Conor Keys (LO), Mitch Jacobson (FL), Le Roux Malan (CE)
– Niko Jones (FL/N8), Danny Tusitala (SH), Axel Müller (WI), Perry Humphreys (WI), Damien Hoyland (WI), Mike Dabulas (FB)
| NOTES |
- Canadian internationals Conor Keys (LO) and Gabe Casey (CE) sustained minor injuries while playing for New England in the win over Anthem last weekend
- Free Jacks lock Jackson Thiebes takes the roster spot for Keys, and is set to make his first MLR appearance since the 2021 season… after which he announced his recently-ended retirement
- Kyle Baillie makes his first start in New England colors against the team he captained in the latter stages of last season including two playoff matches
- Old Glory have lost tighthead prop Kevin Brou to a potential season-ending injury sustained during the preseason… hooker or loosehead Facundo Gattas was a late scratch last week
- Axel Müller is serving the final week of a suspension resulting from a red card received while playing for Perigueux in France this past December… he should make his MLR debut against Chicago
- while Danny Tusitala and Damien Hoyland are now at training they have been deemed short of match fitness… meanwhile the status of Niko Jones is unclear
| PREDICTION |
DC haven’t beaten New England since their first encounter back in 2021, a streak of six straight defeats. Old Glory came close to an upset at Fort Quincy last March, but absent several leading players will have their work cut out for them on Saturday. The Free Jacks will have no intention of allowing their conference rivals to spoil their first game of the year on home turf. New England are clear favorites.
| LINEUPS |
NEW ENGLAND FREE JACKS
1 Kyle Ciquera, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson, 4 Josh Larsen (capt.), 5 Kyle Baillie, 6 Martín Sigren, 7 Cam Davidowicz, 8 Wian Conradie, 9 John Poland, 10 Jayson Potroz, 11 Paula Balekana, 12 Wayne van der Bank, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Mitch Wilson, 15 Reece MacDonald
Replacements: 16 Sean Ralph, 17 Foster DeWitt, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Jackson Thiebes, 20 Piers von Dadelszen, 21 Holden Yungert, 22 Isaac Olson, 23 Danyon Morgan-Puterangi
OLD GLORY DC
1 Quentin Newcomer, 2 Martín Vaca, 3 Tyler Rowland, 4 Rob Harley, 5 Ignacio Dotti, 6 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (capt.), 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Lautaro Bavaro, 9 Ethan McVeigh, 10 Jason Robertson, 11 Ishmail Shabazz, 12 Tommaso Boni, 13 John Powers, 14 John Rizzo, 15 Gradyn Bowd
Replacements: 16 KoiKoi Nelligan, 17 Jack Iscaro, 18 Cali Martinez, 19 Bill Whiteside, 20 Collin Grosse, 21 Connor Buckley, 22 William Talataina, 23 Palema Roberts
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, March 9
Venue: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Quincy
Kickoff: 14:00 local (11:00 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: cloudy, 45°F (7°C), wind SE 12-19mph (20-30km/h)
Broadcasts: NBC Sports Boston, Monumental Sports, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Scott Green (USA)
Assistants: Luke Rogan (USA) & Jarrod Ford (USA)
TMO: Greg Gilliam (USA)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (7) – NE 6, DC 1, STREAK NE +6
2023-07-01 – New England Free Jacks 25, Old Glory DC 7 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2023-05-14 – Old Glory DC 24, New England Free Jacks 42 (Segra Field)
2023-03-11 – New England Free Jacks 34, Old Glory DC 31 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2022-05-07 – New England Free Jacks 26, Old Glory DC 20 (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
2022-02-18 – Old Glory DC 25, New England Free Jacks 41 (Segra Field)
2021-06-06 – New England Free Jacks 38, Old Glory DC 34 (Union Point Stadium)
2021-04-25 – Old Glory DC 35, New England Free Jacks 22 (Segra Field)
