> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # MLR Playoffs Preview: Breaking Down Seattle Seawolves, Western Conference Contenders - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/playoff-preview-seattle-seawolves-major-league-rugby/ - Published: 2025-06-12T22:48:42.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:59:12.000Z - Author: Callaghan Bluechel - Tags: Seawolves, MLR \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2398"\] ![ Seawolves fullback Duncan Matthews battles SaberCats hooker Pita Anae-Ah Sue during Seattle's 14-9 win over Houston on May 23, 2025. Both teams made the playoffs this season. Credit: Punkus Arnett/Seattle Seawolves. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/image001--284-29-format-original.jpg) Seawolves fullback Duncan Matthews battles SaberCats hooker Pita Anae-Ah Sue during Seattle's 14-9 win over Houston on May 23, 2025\. Both teams made the playoffs this season. Credit: Punkus Arnett/Seattle Seawolves. \[/caption\] The 2025 Major League Rugby regular season concluded last week, with all eight playoff teams and their seedings decided. The league saw a good amount of parity this year, with both first-place teams going 1-1 against both fourth-place sides – so it’s anyone’s game to get to the top. The playoff structure is simple: The top four teams in each Conference, West and East, make the playoffs, with the first seed playing the fourth seed and the second seed playing the third seed in the Conference Semifinals. The winners of those matches in each conference play each other in the Conference Finals, and the Conference winners play each other for the MLR Shield in the MLR Final. Aside from the MLR Final – held this year at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island – all playoff matches will be held at the home stadium for the higher-seeded team. With the collapse of the Dallas Jackals before the 2025 season, the Western Conference was reduced down to five squads this year. The San Diego Legion initially looked like the team to beat – with a 5-0-0 start (though mostly against weaker sides) – but the early leaders then collapsed in the back half of the season and went from first to worst, barely being edged out for the fourth spot by the resurgent Seattle Seawolves. And so the four teams from the West are the Utah Warriors, the Houston SaberCats, Rugby Football Club Los Angeles, and the Seattle Seawolves. So, let’s analyze some of these teams, shall we? ### 1: Utah Warriors *Record: 11-5-0 (58 points)* *In-Conference Record: 6-2-0 (0-2-0 vs. SaberCats, 2-0-0 vs. RFCLA, 1-1-0 vs. Seawolves, 2-0-0 vs. Legion)* In the five-side brawl to the top, it was Utah who finished in first. The Warriors went from a 5-11-0, 35-point, fifth-place finish in 2024 to a 11-5-0, 58-point, first-place showing in 2025\. They are an offensive powerhouse this year, with league-bests in both points scored (529) and tries (77). They also have a strong forward pack, with the best scrum completion rate in the league, the most tackles made, and the most turnovers won. But despite this, their defense is relatively weak for a team of their caliber, with 443 points scored against – decidedly middle-of-the-pack. Several of the key pieces to this team came over in the offseason. Fullback Jordan Trainor, who played for NOLA last year, scored six tries and assisted eight, all while gaining 1032 meters in 143 carries (7.2 meters/carry). He made 20 clean breaks and beat 46 defenders. He played in 1060 minutes over 14 games, all starts. Liam Coltman, a former U20 All-Black hooker, shined in his first MLR season, with ten tries and 152 tackles over 779 minutes in 14 games and 12 starts. And D’Angelo Leuila, also in his first MLR year, had the second-most points in MLR at 89. But other important players are Utah veterans. Wing Joe Mano, a fifth-year Warrior, was the league-leader in tries with fourteen and was one of the few players this year to notch a hat trick (doing so in week three against NOLA). He also gained 785 meters in 91 carries (8.6 meters/carry) in 1045 minutes played over 14 games, all starts. Lock Frank Lochore, in his second season with Utah, led the league with 265 tackles in 1223 minutes (17.3 tackles per 80 minutes) over 16 appearances. Joel Hodgson, in his third Utah year, is a true jack-of-all-trades at flyhalf, not only providing an attacking anchorpoint for his team – with nine try assists, 301 passes, and 4,323 kicking meters – but notching seven tries of his own and 85 total points scored. All of this gives the Utah Warriors a strong possibility of making it to Pawtucket this season. They are one of the best first-half teams in the league, so their success in the playoffs will hinge on their ability to run up an insurmountable early lead against Seattle in the semifinals and then again in the finals against either Los Angeles or Houston. As the first seed, they get home field advantage in both the Semifinal and the Conference Final, should they beat the Seawolves. But if Seattle or Houston or Los Angeles keep their powerhouse offense in check long enough to scrounge out a close game, then the Warriors may be in trouble. ### 2: Houston SaberCats *Record: 10-6-0 (54 points)* *In-Conference Record: 6-2-0 (2-0-0 vs. Warriors, 1-1-0 vs. RFCLA, 1-1-0 vs. Seawolves, 2-0-0 vs. Legion)* Unlike Utah, the Houston SaberCats have been a strong side for several years now, with playoff appearances in each season since 2022\. The key strength of the SaberCats is their defense: they have given up the fewest points in the conference at 365\. On offense, their team is built around positioning and kicking and uses a deep rotation of halfbacks to build their attack around Houston’s flyhalf rotation of Davy Coetzer and AJ Alatimu has continued to excel, with 4242 kicking meters, 32 conversions, 18 penalty goals, four tries, and eight try assists combined between the two of them. Their scrumhalf rotation of Andre Warner, Jay Renton, and Juan-Dee Oliver has 3114 kicking meters, 1133 passes, eight tries, and eleven try assists between the two of them. The SaberCats’ top try-scorer is center Tautalatosi Tasi, with six on the season in 789 minutes over 11 caps. Fullback Drew Wild, with four tries, 613 meters made (in 107 carries for 5.7 meters/carry), and 1911 kicking meters over 722 minutes in 10 games, has been a big player, as have winger Rufus McLean, who has 629 meters in 99 carries (6.4 meters/carry) and three tries in 899 minutes over 12 games. A breakout in the last few games has been winger Drake Davis, who has 267 meters and four clean breaks in just 11 carries (a whopping 24.3 meters/carry) over 224 minutes in seven appearances. Davis was selected for the MLR Team of the Week in the final week of the season for his role in Houston’s 26-14 win over Anthem Rugby Carolina. Houston has a number of prolific tacklers among their forward pack, such as openside flanker Jonah Momsen with 170 (as well as three tries and three try assists) over 16 games and blindside flanker Emmanuel Albert with 157\. Young hooker Seth Smith is another notable piece of the team, with a notable ability to shove forward and scrap out meters in the front row – and he has four tries on the year. Overall, the SaberCats are a very solid jack-of-all-trades team that is built to outlast opponents with a deep roster and consistent, good play. However, there are notable weaknesses on the team. Their set piece play is weaker than much of the MLR, so they have to rely more on their strong open field play. Davy Coetzer and Seth Smith both suffered injuries during a May 17 match against the Utah Warriors and are question marks for the playoffs. ### 3: Rugby Football Club Los Angeles *Record: 8-7-1 (51 points)* *In-Conference Record: 2-5-1 (0-2-0 vs. Warriors, 1-1-0 vs. SaberCats, 1-0-1 vs. Seawolves, 0-2-0 vs. Legion)* RFCLA had an even bigger transformation than the Utah Warriors did from 2024 to 2025\. They went from dead last in the Conference at 5-10-1 with by far the worst offense in the conference in 2024 to one of the most powerful attacking units in MLR, and much of it is thanks to one key offseason acquisition: Argentine scrumhalf Gonzalo Bertranou. Before coming to MLR, Bertranou had a 5-year career in Super Rugby followed by a four-season stint in the United Rugby Championship. He is now one of the most energetic, quick, and creative scrumhalves in MLR, very fond of tap-and-go quick restarts and changing the direction of play. His league-leading 1158 passes are miles ahead of the Hounds’ Mitch Short, in second with 781\. His 648 meters made is more than double that of the next highest for a primary scrumhalf, Zion Going of the Utah Warriors, who has 269\. Bertranou has scored six tries and assisted thirteen, and has played 1016 minutes in 15 games, 14 of them starts. This revamped offense, when working properly, is one of the most formidable units in all of MLR. LA’s 1123 crossed gainlines are easily MLR-best, as are their 8731 meters made, 524 defenders beaten, and 173 clean breaks. But Bertranou isn’t the only new face on this Los Angeles roster. The other halfback, Christian Leali’ifano, has been a stellar flyhalf, with 89 points scored, 1379 kicking meters, two tries, and two try assists in 975 minutes in 14 appearances. Former Hound Billy Meakes has continued his excellent performance at center, with six tries, six try assists, and 141 tackles, though his 622 meters made is a decrease from his previous run of three straight 1000-meter seasons. Reece MacDonald, a fullback acquired from New England, has been an exciting meter eater, with 773 meters in 98 carries (7.9 meters/carry) and two tries in just 459 minutes over nine games. Longtime RFCLA member and captain Jason Damm, meanwhile, has had a second straight excellent season, with seven tries and 192 tackles in 1102 minutes over 15 games. But RFCLA is constrained by two factors: one, that they often lose their attacks due to accruing penalizations – they are the third most penalized team in the league (178 penalties conceded) – and two, their defense is much more of a liability, with the second highest points scored against in the league at 497\. This causes them to struggle against powerful attacking teams like Utah, so if they end up facing the Warriors in the Conference Final, they will have a very tough time. ### 4: Seattle Seawolves *Record: 8-7-1 (49 points)* *In-Conference Record: 3-4-1 (1-1-0 vs. Warriors, 1-1-0 vs. SaberCats, 0-1-1 vs. RFCLA, 1-1-0 vs. Legion)* The Seattle Seawolves triumphed over their Western competition in the 2024 playoffs, making it to the MLR Final for the fourth time in their history. But a loss to the New England Free Jacks in the last game of 2025 gave the other side of I-90 a repeat championship and cemented an East Coast rugby rival for the Emerald City. Seattle was hit further by several important departures, including flyhalf Mack Mason, wing Conner Mooneyham, and hooker Joe Taufete’e. The team brought in new faces to replace them, but early in the year, they had trouble adjusting. Iona took a few games to slot into the flyhalf role while Kotze opened the year with a rough outing in San Diego. Add to this some early season bad luck, some other struggling players, and a couple close losses, and the Seattle Seawolves were 2-5-0 going into their bye. Then, the winds changed. Iona found his stride, at least in open play, and Esdale scored some highlight-reel tries, while OJ Noa went on a roll and became the starting eightman – all bolstered by the late-season revelation of scrumhalf Nick Boyer. But the bulk of Seattle’s comeback came from their tried-and-true core: outside backs Divan Rossouw, Duncan Matthews, Toni Pulu, and Ina Futi started combining to become one of the core threats of the team’s play. Riekert Hattingh returned from injury in the third game of the year and Charles Elton returned in the sixth. JP Smith won his 100th cap and had another excellent season. In particular, Divan Rossouw and Duncan Matthews have been one of the best pairs of backs in MLR in 2025\. Matthews is the league-leading meter eater with 1095 meters (in 145 carries for 7.6 meters/carry) and has six tries, ten try assists, 60 defenders beaten, 18 clean breaks, and 1232 kicking meters. Rossouw is not far behind in meters with 967 (in 170 carries, 5.7 meters/carry) and leads the team with eight tries and three try assists while also beating 60 defenders, notching 20 clean breaks, and kicking for 2010 meters. The two of them sport an excellent connection between not only each other but also the rest of the backfield. These backs form one half of the attacking structure that has formed as the 2025 season matured, but the ruck crash play is still there, if augmented. OJ Noa has 61 crossed gainlines and prop Cam Orr has 51, while Herbst has 43 and Hattingh has 42\. But the key piece of the Seawolves is still their defense. Other teams have scored 422 points against Seattle, fourth-least in MLR and second-least in the West, and it’s due to that Seawall. There were struggles early on, especially giving up breakaways, but the return of Charles Elton – who picked up right where he left off and made 195 tackles in just 11 games – and the more consistent role given to Toni Pulu and Ina Futi on the wings helped glue up the Seawall and charge Seattle’s comeback. But the team still has struggles and the ghost of struggles, so if they start knocking the ball on, suffering penalties up top, or making muffed passes, they could be in serious trouble. They generally come into force during the second half, and so if their struggles show up early against Utah, it could be lights out within the first forty minutes. ### Schedule The Western Conference Semifinal matches will happen this weekend. First, the Utah Warriors will host the Seattle Seawolves in Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah, at 7 PM PT on Saturday, June 14\. Then, the Houston SaberCats will host Los Angeles in SaberCats Stadium in Houston, Texas, at 5:30 PM PT on Sunday, June 15. On Saturday, June 21, the winners of those two games will face each other in the Western Conference Final. It has not yet been scheduled which of the two listed timeslots – 10:00 AM or 6:00 PM PT – will be allocated to the Western game. A week later, on Saturday, June 28, the winner of the West will face the winner of the East in the MLR Final at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. That game will be played at 2:00 PM.