The New England Free Jacks host the Chicago Hounds at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in the 2nd leg of the Eastern Conference Final rematch to kick off MLR’s ‘Decision Day’, the final day of the 2026 Regular Season.

The Hounds enter this game as the only team in MLR with their place secured, and remain unbeaten with a 9-0 record. Although a win is not needed, Chicago will want that flawless 10-0 regular season and will also want to get revenge on the New England Free Jacks for their defeat in last year’s Eastern Conference Final. The Free Jacks currently sit in a playoff spot, but will want a bonus point win to give them the best possible chance of qualifying for the postseason. It’s possible that they can still make it with a loss, but they will need Anthem RC to do them a favour against Old Glory DC for that to work.

Both sides seemed to understand the gravity of this game, and it remained scoreless through the first 20 minutes as both teams jockeyed for field position. Lots of penalties for each side but the Hounds enjoyed the bulk of the territory and possession, but were unable to break that Free Jacks defence. After camping in the Free Jacks end following the first hydration break, the Hounds won a penalty and put it into the corner as they had already done multiple times through the first 25 minutes. Bekerman’s throw was faultless and the Hounds set up the maul and on this occasion the Free Jacks collapsed the maul illegally and referee Derek Summers had no choice but to award the Hounds a Penalty Try, and show a yellow card to Free Jacks forward Jama Fa’anana-Schultz just to rub salt in the wound. This yellow card seems to have spurred the Free Jacks on however. Now down 7 and down a man, New England began stringing together phases and marching up field. A penalty in the Hounds half gave them a golden opportunity from a lineout in the corner, and on the second attempt, Sione Topou breaks off the maul and straight through the Hounds line. Joel Hodgson can’t add the extras however so still trail 5-7 in the 32nd minute, but had their tails up now. Just a few minutes later after fighting their way back downfield but giving away possession, Kienan Higgins jumps on a spilled ball and runs it in under the posts to give the hosts their first lead of the game, 12-7 once Hodgson added the conversion. The Hounds would rally well however, and hit back soon after the Higgins score to get the last laugh of the first half. A defensive stand on their own line was eventually breached by Tiaan Loots, with the Chicago centre able to stretch out for the grounding, and Santiago Videla makes no mistakes from the tee to give the visitors back the lead, 12-14 at the half.

The second half started with heavy pressure from the Chicago Hounds, but a miscue was fly-hacked by a defender to clear their lines after nearly 10 minutes of being hemmed in. Free Jacks defenders manage to hold up the Hounds in a maul in midfield to regain possession, and out of seemingly nowhere, a strong fend from Kienan Higgins allows him to offload to Oscar Lennon on a great support line, who runs it in to give the Free Jacks back the lead once again, 19-14 just shy of the 50 minute mark. For possibly the first time this season, it looked as if the Hounds were human after all. The Free Jacks had fought their way back into the lead, and were shifting the momentum and benefitting from Chicago mistakes. There was roughly 20 minutes of vying for field position in the middle of the second half either side of the hydration break where both teams took turns in marching upfield before an error or clutch turnover switched possession and the other team would then do the same. Finally, with the Free Jacks still needing a 4th try for their bonus point, A smart play from Tiaan Loots saw him tackled, but he released the ball and picked it up again, getting over the try line for his second of the game to tie things up for Chicago. The lead flips back once again after Videla adds the extras, 19-21 up with about 13 minutes to play. This really seemed to both feed the Hounds, and deflate the Free Jacks. Just a few minutes later, 2025 Championship MVP Brock Webster flies through a gap from close range to extend the visitors’ lead, and claim their try bonus point. The Free Jacks, needing to win by at least two, trailed 19-28 with under 7 minutes to play but things would only get worse for the threepeat Champions. To cap off a hard earned road victory, Tiaan Loots got on the shoulder of Luke White after a half break for his third of the game, completing his hat trick for the Chicago Hounds, who take a 19-35 victory on the road but not before Ben LeSage is shown a straight red card (his second of the season) just to really twist the knife for the Free Jacks.

With a bonus point victory, the Chicago Hounds complete the first perfect season in MLR history, going a flawless 10-0 and picking up the maximum 50pts in the standings and get revenge on the New England Free Jacks for last year’s Eastern Conference Final and dumping the 3x defending champions out of the postseason. With this defeat, the Free Jacks finish a forgettable 2026 season with a 3-7 record, losing out on a playoff spot for the first time since 2021 and join Anthem RC as the two teams to miss out. This ensures that their rivals Old Glory DC finish 4th and make the playoffs.

The New England Free Jacks host the California Legion at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Quincy during Round 7 of the 2026 MLR season. This game marks the first ‘Northeast v Southwest’ game of the year.

A fully rested California Legion travel across the country following their bye last week and enter this game currently 2nd in the league with a 3-2 record. This is close to a must-win game for the New England Free Jacks, who sit at the bottom of the league with a 1-4 record after falling to the Seattle Seawolves last week. In a shortened 2026 season, time is running out to turn things around. The Legion dispatched the Free Jacks with relative ease back in Round 2 by a score of 43-5, but the defending champions have brought in reinforcements, and are playing at the formidable Fort Quincy this time.

The California Legion had to compete against two of their biggest rivals in this game, the New England Free Jacks, and the rain. The last time the Legion played in the wet, they were thoroughly beaten by the Chicago Hounds, and the weather frustrated them again this week. The Free Jacks struck first through Sione Tupou at the back of their rolling maul, before a perfect crossfield kick from Coby Miln got the California Legion on the board through Corbin Smith before Miln added the extras to give the Legion their lone lead. The Free Jacks would strike from short range shortly after with Reuben Palmer recording his first MLR try, and the Legion would never be ahead again. The rain began to pick up which bogged the game down and although the Free Jacks conceded more penalties, the Legion conceded in critical areas and struggled with handling on top of that. A pair of yellow cards meant the Legion were on the defensive for a significant portion of the first half, and the Free Jacks would extend their lead with another Sione Tupou score right before the break.

The second half started with the Legion down 17-7 on the scoreboard, and down a man. A Joel Hodgson penalty just nudged the Free Jacks further out of reach, before another 10 minutes later took teh score to 23-7 with 20 to go. The rain hammered down and the Legion seemed far slower to adapt, with the Free Jacks happy to play a more close quarters, grinding game. A moment of magic from the Legion saw an outrageous offload from Ben Houston put Gonzalo Bertranou in to give the visitors some life, now within 9pts, but the boot of Hodgson would once again keep the Free Jacks ahead and another pair of yellow cards for the Legion saw their chances for a victory disappear. New England thought they had secured the win until a California team challenge gave the guests back possession (their 3rd successful challenge of the game), and Ben Houston would eventually cross for his 5th try of the season in the 84th minute to salvage a losing BP, but the New England Free Jacks win this must win affair, and improve to 2-4.

The California Legion remain second in the standings, now on an even 3-3 record and 18pts. They return home to prepare for next week’s clash with the Chicago Hounds. The Free Jacks will be getting some big reinforcements next week, and look to make it 2 wins in a row against their rivals Old Glory DC on the road.

The New England Free Jacks host the Seattle Seawolves at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium during Round 6 of the 2026 MLR season, marking the first leg of the 2026 ‘Coffee Cup’ and ‘Multi-Shield Melee’!

Both sides enter this game with 1-3 records, with the Seattle Seawolves in 6th place, and the Free Jacks in 5th. The Seawolves have been hit hard by the injury bug and are on a 3 game skid following an enormous home defeat to the Chicago Hounds last week, conceding 59pts in total, the most ever by the team. The Free Jacks on the other hand, opened the season with a 3 game losing streak before starting to click and picked up their first win over Anthem RC at home last week.

The opening minutes of the game were very stop/start, which didn’t really allow either team to gather momentum. it took until just before the 15 minute mark for the opening points, which came from the hosts through a long floated pass from Oscar Lennon to Nathan Salmon on the wing, a stand-out on the Free Jacks so far in 2026. Joel Hodgson pushed the conversion wide so the hosts led by 5, but not for long. In almost a carbon copy of the Free Jacks’ try, Seattle openeing the scoring with a long floated pass oout to MIchael Hand, who finished in the corner. The Seawolves also couldn’t convert so the sides went into the first water break tied at 5-5. The stop/start that was present in the opening minutes of the game returned for the rest of the first half, despite a pair of deliberate fouls from New England putting them down to 14 men for significant time. The only changes on the scoreboard came from the boot of Joel Hodgson, who made up for his earlier miss with a pair of penalties to give the New England Free Jacks a 11-5 lead heading into the half.

The second half still opened with what seemed like an even contest, but it was the Seawolves who opened the scoring roughly 5 minutes in with a Divan Rossouw penalty, then got their first try of the half 5 minutes later as Paddy Ryan went over in the corner for his 3rd of the season. There was a question on the grounding of this try despite both the ref and AR being in great position to see and award the score. New England challenged but as there is no close angle of the corner in question, there was no definitive evidence to overturn the onfield desicion, and the try stood. This seemed to dent the Free Jacks’ morale, and the Seawolves started to gather momentum. Michael Hand crossed for his second of the afternoon about 8 minutes later despite chances for New England, but the Sea Wall held firm in defence. The Free Jacks would be unable to shift the scoreboard in their favour at all in the second half in fact, while Seattle slowly but surely pulled away, and secured the try bonus point at the death, with MLR Draftee Tiai Vavao spotting a gap in the line and darting through for his first pro try.

Of all people, Seattle Seawolves stalwart Riekert Hattingh stepped up to convert Vavao’s score, and the big man smashed it, becoming the first forward in MLR history to score a conversion, also reaching 250pts in his MLR career. The visiting Seawolves snap a 3-game skid and pick up their 2nd win of the season with a 11-27 victory. The Free Jacks fall to 1-4, and fail to pick up any bonus points this week. Despite a win last week, time is running out for the reigning champs.

 

The New England Free Jacks host Anthem RC at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Quincy during Round 5 of the 2026 MLR Season.

Anthem RC enter this game with a 2-2 record through 4 games, and are looking to get back in the win column following a defeat at home to Old Glory DC last week. They will have to overcome the formidable Fort Quincy to earn that win, however. That being said, Fort Quincy may have lost some of it’s shine this season, with the New England Free Jacks sitting at the bottom of the MLR table with a 0-3 record. The reigning champs are running out of time to kickstart their 2026 campaign, and will be desperate to earn a win in front of their home fans.

Clearly the Free Jacks were aware of that, so came out firing. They opened the scoring after only a minute through Wayne van der Bank, were 14-0 up after only 10 minutes, and kept a rather shellshocked Anthem RC side out for the best part of the half before Payton Telea-Ilalio broke their goose egg in the 36th minute. The hosts led 17-5 at the half, but a quick Anthem score from Zion Going briefly threatened that. That threat was quickly eliminated thanks to a further two Free Jacks scores before the 50th minute to take the score to 31-12. The visitors had the lions share of the possession in this game, but had a knack for mishandling the ball at crucial times. The Free Jacks added a 5th try through Nathan Salmon to all but put the game to bed as it entered it’s final 10 minutes, but credit to Anthem who scored twice in the final 10 to salvage a try BP from their trip to Quincy. Final score here 38-26, with the defending champions finally getting into the win column and hopping up to 5th in the standings.

Anthem RC now get to rest up as one of only two teams this season with a mid-season bye week, currently sat with a 2-3 record in 3rd place.

The New England Free Jacks host rivals Old Glory DC in their 2026 Home Opener at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Quincy. This game marks the first leg of the 2026 Red, White, & Blue Bowl!

The defending champions enter their home opener off the back of a record defeat at the hands of the California Legion. A 43-5 hiding that the Free Jacks will be determined to avenge in front of a home crowd. Old Glory DC also kicked off their 2026 season on the road, facing a strong Seattle Seawolves side at the formidable Starfire Stadium, where they fell 33-16 last Friday. Both teams are eager to get into the win column early in this shortened 2026 season, and have plenty of history with one another. This game had all the makings of a classic!

Despite being under pressure early, the New England Free Jacks opened the scoring 10 minutes in with Kaleb Geiger dotting down at the back of a rolling maul from a linout, and Joel Hodgson made no mistakes with the conversion to give the hosts a 7-0 lead early on. It would take 15 more minutes for the visitors to answer, with Cory Daniel rumbling over for his first of the season and despite a team challenge from New England, the try stood. Jason Robertson added the extras to tie things up at 7, but Old Glory DC didn’t take their foot off the gas and kept up the pressure on the hosts, before a break out wide presented an opportunity, and Cory Daniel (of all people) finished in the corner for his 2nd of the game and to give DC their first lead of the game, 7-14 to the guests. There were no changes to the score before half-time, but there would be very shortly after the game restarted.

Whatever Head Coach Ryan Martin said to his Free Jacks squad during the half-time break clearly worked, because straight off of the 2nd half kick-off, Oscar Lennon finished a superb team try under the posts to make the game level once again, this time at 14pts a piece. The first 10 minutes of the second half were a flurry of scores, with John LeFevre finishing a DC score in the 46th minutes to restore their 7pt lead in just his 2nd career start in MLR, before Nathan Salmon hit back a couple of minutes later in the corner. Joel Hodgson was given two attempts at the conversion thanks to a failed DC team challenge, but was unable to add the extras from out wide, and the score held at 19-21 to the guests. This would be the final score of the game. Despite the Free Jacks having the lion’s share of possession in the final 30 minutes, the Old Glory DC defence held firm with extraordinary discipline. The Free Jacks discipline, which was highlighted as an issue in their thumping last week, was good for most of the game, conceding just 4 penalties through the first 50 minutes of this game, began to let them down in the final quarter. The defending champions conceded 7 penalties in the final 30mins alone, and they came at critical times. Every break that Old Glory DC got, they made the most of, and defended every phase as if they were on their try line. Their 2pt lead held, and the Flags claimed their first win of the 2026 season and their 3rd straight victory over their New England rivals.

The Free Jacks fall to 0-2 for the first time in their history and while they have definitely improved from last week, the shortened 2026 season means that they are going to start running out of runway quickly. They travel to Nashville to face the Chicago Hounds in MLR’s Music City Showdown next weekend.