> ## 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. # Seawolves Sweep Coffee Cup, Overcome Mistakes in 36-28 Win against Free Jacks - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-seawolves-overcome-mistakes-sweep-coffee-cup-free-jacks/ - Published: 2026-06-01T07:22:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:14:35.000Z - Author: Callaghan Bluechel - Tags: News, Analysis, Seawolves, Paddy Ryan, Andre Warner, Dewald Kotze, Riekert Hattingh, Ina Futi, Divan Rossouw, JP Smith \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="6000"\] ![ The Seattle Seawolves drive a try-scoring maul in the second half of their 36-28 win against the New England Free Jacks on May 31, 2026. Image credit: Riley Stivers/Seattle Seawolves. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/seawolves-vs-free-jacks---2026-5-31---starfire---ryley-stivers-10-format-original.jpg) The Seattle Seawolves drive a try-scoring maul in the second half of their 36-28 win against the New England Free Jacks on May 31, 2026\. Image credit: Riley Stivers/Seattle Seawolves. \[/caption\] TUKWILA, Wash. - There was no doubt who would be hoisting the Coffee Cup when 80 minutes expired on Sunday. The visitors may have been the defending MLR champions three times over, but their down year combined with a late Seawolves surge led to Seattle sweeping the trophy. It was a game that didn’t necessarily look great for either side; in the end, it was a determination of which team would get in their own way less than the other. But the Seawolves emerged victorious in their 36-28 battle against the New England Free Jacks and put themselves in a winner-gets-home-field game against the California Legion. With the Legion having won their penultimate game against Anthem 55-26, the Seawolves needed a win to keep open the possibility of getting the second seed and a home playoff match. And with the five-point showing they put together on Sunday night, there are a lot of winning scenarios against California that put Seattle into that seed. Despite being the three-time defending MLR champions, the Free Jacks came into Sunday night’s game in quite a beatable shape. New England had just 16 points with a 5-3-0 record, fifth in the table ahead of only Anthem Rugby Carolina. But the middle of the table remained tight going into the second-to-last week; New England could tie things up with Seattle by getting all five points and keeping the Seawolves to none. Seattle’s lineup was almost identical to their [match in Chicago the previous week](https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-seawolves-chicago-hounds-domesticate-beatdown/), though with Charlie Walsh and Michael Hand in the reserves instead of Dewald Donald and Nolan Tuamoheloa. > [View this post on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DY8ZCUvlAf2/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by Seattle Seawolves Rugby (@seawolvesrugby)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DY8ZCUvlAf2/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) It wasn’t clear whether New England’s pack outweighed Seattle or the other way around. According to figures from the respective team sites (supplemented with figures from the North American Rugby Database when needed), the Free Jacks’ forwards weighed a combined 2,001 pounds (908 kilograms) to Seattle’s 1,971 (894 kilograms), but the figures listed on the official MLR website combined to 2,006 pounds (910 kilograms) for the Jacks and 2,039 pounds (925 kilograms) for Seattle. > [View this post on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DY-RuJaibUV/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) > > [A post shared by New England Free Jacks (@nefreejacks)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DY-RuJaibUV/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading) ### The first half was sloppy for both sides, with the Seawolves losing in set pieces and New England incurring whistles. Seattle got a good drive going early on Sunday, with some busted lines leading to meters on their right and an offsides call against New England on the other side leading to a corner lineout. But the Seawolves forwards found themselves stymied in the maul and a knock-on five meters out from the try line gave the visitors a scrum. Seattle possession in attacking territory didn’t end right then, as New England flyhalf Joel Hodgson kicked to touch to gain some space for his side, but the Jacks stole the ball in an ensuing ruck and pushed the Seawolves back to their own territory before the home side managed to regain the ball. Despite a couple well-placed kicks in the field, the visitors regained space with a kick of their own and the ball with a whistle, only kept away from a try-scoring breakaway thanks to a backline steal. But Seattle caught some wind as Jacks winger Nathan Salmon got shown a yellow for foul play in the eighth minute, with a promising breakaway involving Ina Futi and Riekert Hattingh on the blindside. Once again, the Seawolves got in their own way, with Hattingh knocking it on during a change of hands. The home side were finally able to showcase the vigor of the backfield after getting a scrum thanks to a New England forward pass, with connection between Dan Kriel, JP Smith, and Futi. Although the latter’s chip and chase went to touch and New England was able to ease the pressure, another penalty on the Jacks led to Seattle getting a corner lineout. This time, with a man advantage, the Seawolves didn’t let it go to waste. Ezekiel Lindenmuth barreled to within a meter of the line, and with only a couple picks and runs in between, Paddy Ryan lurched into the zone to set Seattle ahead. When Coetzer converted, the Seawolves found themselves with a 7-0 lead. A potentially pivotal hour of the first half came as New England finally put together some sustained offense. The book is clear on Seattle - their defense struggles against high-energy attacks - and so the Free Jacks powered forward in a frenzy, crashing through line after line as the Seawall bent and bent. Penalty advantages and ensuing meterage kept piling up for New England, but Seattle held the line, even as Marno Redelinghuys got sent to the sin bin. It was a bend-but-don’t break spell of play that lay in wait for their attacking opponents to make a mistake. New England finally did so after taking another of their penalty advantages to touch for the lineout. As the throw came in, Seattle’s forwards found themselves in good position to take the ball away, and a kick to touch left play at the 22 to give the Seawolves badly-needed space. And when Free Jacks hooker Kaleb Geiger overthrew *that* lineout, the pressure truly abated. With all the momentum on their side, this was a chance for the Seawolves to roar forward, get another try, and secure a solid lead in the early game. But despite chances to break out of their defensive zone, that didn’t yet materialize. Seattle got clearly flustered by New England’s energy, so much so that scrumhalf André Warner tried to do a quick reset on his own after a Free Jacks penalty around midfield. But he lost the ball as he tried to power past his opponents, and the only reason that the visitors didn’t get a corner lineout right then and there after a Seattle penalty was thanks to a kick to touch that sliced over the endline. That lineout wound up coming anyway due to the Seawolves getting dinged for not hooking the ball in the scrum, and the ensuing maul quickly shoved Seattle over their own line and Jacks lock Tayne Hemopo easily landed the try. New England had a clear advantage in the way the game was being played in the minutes that followed, with a marked ability to drive on the attack, press Seattle tacklers off of them, and turn even midfield possession into opportunities near the 22 with marked quickness. But unlike the Hounds and Legion, who execute these strategies with the confidence and precision of well-oiled machines, the Free Jacks were clearly less adept at this style of play, getting dinged for plenty of penalties and never quite advancing inside the 22 beyond that point. The Seawolves, meanwhile, kept muffing lineouts, losing home scrums, and giving the ball away on knock-ons during their runs of play. They were trying to execute the kind of quick, attacking play that had been a clear strength in more clinical weeks, but without that accuracy in their hands, all it led to were drives cut short again and again. By the end of the half, nobody had broken the 7-7 tie. “We just lost the ball at the edges,” Warner said about his team’s play in that half. “We gained meters and just gave it away.” ### Despite continued mistakes, the Seawolves took advantage of enough errors from New England to lurch into a winning score. Just like in the first half Seattle got a dangerous drive right off the rip; Divan Rossouw leapt up and caught the kick well into New England territory. The Seawolves crashed forward relentlessly, however, and unlike the first half drive that sputtered out, they brought themselves within five meters rapidly and Hattingh leapt into the try zone. But Free Jacks inside center Kienan Higgins held him up before he could land a try, and play went back to a previous offsides call on the visitors. Despite Seattle’s scrum having looked uneasy quite a bit during the first half, the captain Hattingh decided to opt for a scrum instead of a corner lineout after the whistle. This decision was made because of the nature of the uneasiness; they had been pushing back on New England physically in the set piece, but had made some mistakes in technical execution that had led to turnovers. This turned out to be the right call, though the Seawolves went through a veritable *Groundhog Day* of repetitions before it could bear fruit. Three times the Free Jacks conceded a scrum penalty, and three times it went back to the spot because the visitors held Hattingh up in the try zone. The third time this happened, referee Robin Kaluzniak called a penalty try, and the Seawolves had a 14-7 lead. Ryan, who had already scored a try in the first half, showed some chops in the ensuing minutes as the Seawolves built a drive downfield out of a defensive zone field position. Ryan beat two defenders as he lurched beyond midfield in the 48th, and it was just a few phases later when Coetzer surged past opposing flanker Bailey Wilson and lock Jacob Norris to bring the ball near the 22\. Hattingh launched past that point on the openside, and even with two Free Jacks landing a big hit on Redelinghuys, the momentum continued until Warner found Ryan open enough to land the five points. Coetzer made his second conversion of the night to give his team a 21-7 lead. But just as Seattle’s offense looked as energetic as ever, holes in their defense widened. New England was able to force breakaways along the touchlines several times in quick succession as the 60th minute began approaching. The first immediately halved the Seattle lead, with Salmon breaking away - this only because Hodgson found him with an expert pass - and the winger began a series of clinical offloads that ended in Ben LeSage bringing down a try in the 55th and Hodgson converting. This game, however, was one defined as much by mistakes as it was by successes. Two more potential breakaways ended because a visitor fell into touch along the edge of the pitch, A 59th minute drive near the 22 for Seattle ended thanks to an errant pass, and the Seawolves got pushed deep back into their own half and a probably game-tying try from New England was only saved due to a last-minute grab from Smith. The team pushed back out to their own 22 by the hydration break, with a scrum in tow thanks to a New England knock-on. That scrum continued the pattern set in the early part of the half. New England got entirely twisted around in the set piece, with a scrum penalty and a yellow card on Jacks loosehead Tevita Sole. Another penalty on the Free Jacks - this time for not releasing after they briefly recovered a box kick - allowed Seattle a kick to touch and a lineout at the attacking 22. Seattle roared forward in the lineout maul. The closer the Seawolves got, the louder the home Starfire fans became. With their starting loosehead in the sin bin, the New England pack was helpless to stop the methodical, powerful crawl. Dewald Kotze, in for Sean McNulty at hooker, held the ball at the back of the maul as his teammates drove all the way to the line and over it, making the final score all but a formality. That didn’t make the eruption of the Starfire crowd any less intense. It was the fourth try, and with the momentum in tow, there was a very large chance for a full five points in the table. The Seawolves were finally in a groove. Redelinghuys stole the ball away around midfield and his team surged to the openside. One kick, two kicks, then a third by Davy Coetzer brought the ball well into dangerous attacking space, and although Coetzer wasn’t on top of the ball with his hands, he contested it long enough to allow Rossouw to catch up and zoom into the try zone in the 65th. Coetzer didn’t make the conversion, but it was 33-14. With 15 minutes remaining, the Free Jacks had a very tight window if they were to come back and take a thriller from Seattle. Yet with their backs to the wall, they finally began to get out of their own way, slowly driving forward over five minutes and taking a corner maul over the line in the 72nd. Hodgson converted to make it a 12-point game. But it still took until the 77th minute for New England to work back past midfield, getting a lineout as Duncan Matthews fell into touch. A breakaway along the touchline a minute later brought them truly into attacking territory and, as things came towards the openside, Salmon whirled around several Seawolves to turn inwards towards the middle and get within five meters. The speed of New England’s attack forced Seattle out of the wings, and that’s where flanker Alex Mackenzie landed a try of his own. When Hodgson put it through the posts, it was all of a sudden 33-28\. A clinical drive could steal a win for New England. The visitors made one too many mistakes. A not releasing penalty (the 13th New England conceded in the game) gave Seattle the option to wait it out and go for posts, which they did. Dorian Jones, in for Coetzer, split the uprights just as 80 minutes were up. ### Paddy Ryan’s two tries headlined the team’s performance, but he gave an all-around MOTM performance. Any time a player gets a brace, it shows up pretty clearly on a scoresheet. But for Paddy Ryan, who has perhaps been Seattle’s best offseason signing not named Davy Coetzer, it was an all-around performance that provided much of the driving force behind his team’s win. Ryan notched a total of 24 tackles in the match, most of anyone on either side, and the MLR website now lists him as having 137 successful tackles. Jacob Norris of New England is the only one in MLR with more at 140. “I’ve been trying to work on my tackle tech, actually, for the last couple of weeks. I’m trying to be more dominant, so I was happy with my collisions today,” Ryan said about his performance. “Obviously, it’s nice to score, but it’s more like a team sort of thing. For me personally, I want to jackal, and I want to be dominant in the collisions. I felt like I made a really good impact there in my own game.” And the flanker has been a notable meter-eater, pre- and post-contact, with a clear explosiveness and vigor that makes him one of the most dangerous players on the pitch. On a Seattle team that struggles to contain breakaways on the wings, he helps keep opponents in check up the middle. After the game ended, the winning Seawolves were presented with the ceremonial Coffee Cup, the trophy between the teams representing opposite ends of I-90, both noted coffee hubs. The celebratory drink inside, however, was beer. Drinking from the trophy was deceptively difficult. “It’s pretty tough, it’s actually kind of heavier than you would think, so you need some assistance lifting it up,” Ryan said. “Then it’s easier to drink.” Perhaps that was a statement from experience, as he had lifted it all by himself. ### One game remains in Seattle’s regular season, and it will decide the MLR second seed. Each team enters the final week of the season having played nine games. The first seed in the four-team MLR playoffs is already the Chicago Hounds, who barely managed to maintain their perfect season earlier in the weekend against Old Glory DC. But the second seed is a tossup between the Seawolves and Legion. The winner of that game will play the first round at home against the loser of that game. No matter what happens on Sunday, June 7, Seattle will be playing California in the MLR semifinal. But the home field advantage will matter a ton. Injury-wise, a late knock on Smith leaves him with an unclear status going into the match. Although tighthead Ignacio Péculo and loose forward Kalisi Moli were both listed as participating in practice (with Moli’s being full participation), and return for those players will be either in the 10th game or in the semifinal. But the big thing will be keeping the Legion’s energetic attack in check. California’s offense is built around scrumhalf Gonzalo Bertranou, whose elite work rate and endless scrappiness often break offenses down and can make possession more important than position. The last time these two teams faced off, it was Bertranou more than anyone that gave the Legion the win. “Not giving him opportunities around the breakdown to sort of, like, pick and go and snipe around the breakdown,” Ryan said about preparing for Bertranou’s style. “We got to win the collisions first, and then he doesn’t have the platform to work on top of us, because he works really well in the transition, in the scraps, different bits like that.”