Following the release of the fixtures for the 2022 Electrosports Football League season, we have all the details on who Penrith are playing where and when...

How does the first month of the season look for us this time around?
The good news is that in the first month, we only have one divisional game slated, which is our opening fixture against Florence (Sept 8), however, we then have to travel on the beginning of a four-game road trip, firstly facing off against the Auctioneers in Week 2, who made the postseason last season as well as the Dragons in Week 3, who were only a game out from getting in and shut us out last season. We finish up the first month with a visit to Amsterdam, the hosts of the upcoming draft, and a game against the Prodigies.

What does the division look like this season?
With the rebranding of the Bullfighters, we are due to now face the Zombies in Week 8 (Home) and Week 10 (Away). We visit Florence a week earlier, along with our home opener against them, and round off the divisional slate of games with a visit to Tillamook in Week 5 and the return fixture later on in Week 12, which will close out our divisional play for 2024.

The divisional rotation schedule must be coming to an end this time around, who did we get this year?
So, we got matched up against the FB North this year, with home games against Seattle (Week 13) and the defending conference champion Les Republicains de Paris (Week 6), and consecutive away games against both Forbidden City (Week 2) and Porth Emmett (Week 3). Our opposing conference division this season is the BC West, where we are matched up in away games with the Derry Mean Machine (Week 11) and the Dutch Prodigies in Week 5, and welcoming the Reasonable Lengths to town in Week 16, whilst also facing off in the first Australian Derby against the Echunga Echidnas in Week 9. Our final two games are against both Nottingham and Nice, both of whom finished in 3rd place in their divisions last season.

What does preseason look like for the Lions?
Our preseason lineup once features the Edlington Anarchy, this time we will be visiting them. Edlington is a team we have now played in every preseason, so this may be turning into a bit of a preseason rivalry. We are 2-0 against them and will look to open the preseason with a third straight victory against them. Our other away game in the preseason will be against the Montevideo Screamers, and we will be looking to get one back on them after the 33-3 drubbing they gave us last season. Our two preseason home games will see the Star City Slamhounds come to town, for the third time in a row and we also welcome Derry to town, for a first-time matchup against the Mean Machine.

Did we get any long trips away from home, or long stays at home?
Yes and No. We were lucky this season in that we have a four-game road trip to start the season (Weeks 2 to 5), but we have had that offset with a three-game home stand late on in the season (Weeks 12 to 14). Other than that, and a two-game home stand against Balsicas and Echunga during the middle of the season, we were lucky with our schedule this season.

The question that gets asked all the time. What do our final four games look like?
It actually looks good for us this season, compared to others. We get three out of the four games at home and only one of them is against a team that made the postseason last season, that being our final away game to sunny Nice (Week 15, Dec 15). The other three games will see us face off against Seattle (Dec 1) and Nottingham (Dec 8). We then finish up with a home game (the first time we have finished off the season at home) against the Reasonable Lengths on December 22, right before Christmas.

Penrith Lions’ Electrosports Football League fixtures – Season 2024

PENRITH, NSW - In another trade for the Lions, they have traded with Cheesy Philly for three selections, giving up only one in the process and further strengthening their hand in the upcoming draft.

The Lions have traded away the 52nd overall selection, a second-round selection to Cheesy Philly, who have given the Lions a third-round selection (Pick #86), a fifth-round selection (Pick #155) and a sixth-round selection (Pick #169) in the draft, which will start tonight. The exchange of draft picks further strengthens the Lions' position not just in other trades but in the draft, with the team amassing quite the collection of draft picks, and potentially etching their name into history with the most draft picks used in the draft, if the Lions do decide over the next four days to use all these picks.

Speaking to the media, General Manager Todd Carlton talked about the rumours that the Lions were just stockpiling picks for the draft in retaliation for the news of the voiding of several large contracts that the previous ownership of the Bullfighters had made to several prominent free agents:-

"We made our position clear on this matter, and the league owners had their robust discussion at an emergency meeting held over the last two days, and we made it clear about where we stood on these contracts, and we also made it clear our position about how we handle, manage and approach free agency and contract talks with free agents across the league and with their agents and management teams, and we respect the decision that the league has made to place the Bullfighters into administration and begin the process of finding new ownership. Our decision to be active in the trade market, and to trade for further selections has nothing to do with those debates and discussions, our decision is based on where we stand as a team right now, where our roster sits and how it is shaping up for training camp and the preseason, and where we want to go with the draft. That is it. End of story"

PENRITH, NSW - The Lions have continued to be active in the trade market as the draft edges closer, with another trade of draft selections to boost the team's draft positions.

The Lions have traded away one of the three first-round selections it still holds in the upcoming draft, due to begin in a few hours, trading with the Forbidden City Dragons. The Lions have sent across the 24th overall selection while picking up a second-round selection in the 2025 draft and the 50th overall pick, currently slated in the third round.

Having started with only eight selections, the Lions have been one of the most active teams in the trade market, with this being the team's sixth trade in the space of only a few hours before the opening of the draft tonight. The team have made earlier trades, and this trade marks the second first-round selection they have traded away, with the team still holding both the 10th overall pick and the 27th overall selection.

Speaking to the media before boarding a plane to head to the draft in Amsterdam, General Manager Todd Carlton talked about the decision to be as active as they have been this offseason and what it means for the Lions moving forward:-

"Some teams are active, some want to just stick with what they have and we have decided that we want to go in this direction. It is not something we do lightly and we don't just accept trade after trade, if it weakens our position, then there is no way we accept the trade, or even entertain discussions. This trade was something we felt was the right call for us. We made no secret that we had no plans to use all four selections in the first round that we held coming into the season, that we wanted to use two of them, at least, to split into either multiple picks this season or across this and next season and this trade does just that, we get a solid pick in the 2025 draft, and we get a good pick this season to help rebuild and shape the roster into a stronger unit and a roster that can begin competing again."

The Lions will begin the first-round tonight with the 10th overall pick, with coverage coming from The Roar over the four days of the draft and beyond.

PENRITH, NSW - The Lions have welcomed home a foundation player while providing a 2026 draft pick to the reformed Balsicas franchise.

Following the changes that have happened over the previous few days with regards to the ownership of the Balsicas franchise, and the appointment of a new owner, the now-named Balsicas Zombies have traded with the Lions to receive a third-round selection in the 2026 draft, and in return, the Lions welcome foundation wide receiver Brian Lecuyer home to Penrith, after a season with the previously named Bullfighters.

Lecuyer returns after playing all 16 games for the Bullfighters, finishing the season with 989 yards and 10 touchdowns, at an average of 16.0 yards per game. While he is still without a touchdown in postseason play, he returns to a receiver corps that managed a paltry 0.9 touchdowns per game last season. Lecuyer managed the second-most receiving yards in the league last season, while the best Lions player was both Wayne Snyder and Paul Townsend at 14th and 15th respectively (673 and 668 yards).

In welcoming Brian back to the Lions, Head Coach James Jennings talked about how this return would play out with some players in the locker room and how his return will play in the rebuild of the team over the coming season:-

"We are excited to welcome Brian back to the team, and I am sure he probably feels a bit like a deck chair, being passed around like this, having to pick his whole life up over the last two offseasons, but I want to ensure him and his family that we are pleased to welcome him back, and he will be as welcome to the team as any other player and I know when we announced this to the roster, that there was so much excitement to see him come back. I want to have him on the field, doing what he did for us in 2022, and that is catching the football in the air, getting into that endzone, and scoring points for us, and I am sure he is raring to get back into that uniform. We all can't wait for the new season with him again.

PENRITH, NSW - The Lions have made a future draft pick trade with Montevideo, to provide additional picks next season.

The Lions have traded away the 86th selection in the draft to Montevideo, in exchange Penrith has received two fourth-round selections, both of which are tied to other teams in the league. One selection will be tied to the finishing position of the Maastricht Violent Vermin, while the other will be tied to the Nottingham Arrows.

Vice President of Football Administration Dominic Watkins spoke to the media, via video link, as a large proportion of the administration was on it's way or in Amsterdam for the upcoming draft, and talked about what this trade means for the Lions moving forward and heading into the draft:

"We have a large selection of picks this season in the draft, it's the way things have worked out and we have wanted to be busy and ensure that we find the right balance between experience and youth, as well as our rookies and provide them with the best possible start to their careers, with the players that we have under contract and those who we have brought in this offseason and will potentially bring in once the draft is complete. We wanted to ensure that, along with looking towards next season and we felt that this trade gave us the best of that, in that we can obtain a couple of extra selections next year, but not give up too much this season, and handing over a third-round choice is a good piece of business for us"

The Lions head into the draft with a large set of selections, and still retain two first-round choices, with the draft set to beginning in only a few hours time.

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - As the first round starts gaining speed, the Lions have made the first of a number of draft selections this year.

With the 10th pick in the 2024 Electrosports Football League draft, the Penrith Lions have selected Alan McCoy, Center from Brigham Young University.

A four-year starter for the Cougars, Alan was beyond impressive during his pro day, opting to skip the combine and focus solely on his education and finishing his degree before moving his focus to his football career, and despite this, it did not deter many teams from watching him in the skills portion, with the Lions being very impressed with the young center's blocking and snapping, something that the Lions felt was important to this selection and his arrival creates competition for Michael Adams, following the departure of Andrew Kenney from the team and gives the Lions a young part of the offensive line moving forward.

As part of the Cougars' team, he played in all bare one game, where he was excused for a personal matter and ran a 4.88 40-yard dash along with a 7.22 three-cone drill. The Cougars' also played in the Potato Bowl last season where they lost on a last-second field goal to Western Michigan, despite leading for most of the match. He also finished as a finalist for the Rimington Trophy for the nation's best center.

General Manager Todd Carlton spoke to the media following the conclusion of the day's proceedings, and talked about the decision behind the selection of Alan McCoy:-

"To be honest, we had multiple options at pick 10, and even I was on the phone trying to see if we could trade up, as we wanted to make sure that we took the best player possible for our team and the roster, and a few others went off the board, but Alan stayed there and we knew after the 8th pick that if Alan was still on the board following the next pick, that he was coming to Penrith, and the chips fell our way. He was our top rated center on the board and we are beyond pleased that he has now become a Lion and we can be confident that he will be a mainstay of our offensive line for years to come, he is someone who we can build that offensive line around and someone who can lift up those around him with his strong work ethic and commitment to excellence."

PENRITH, NSW - The Lions have made a blockbuster trade following on with the first round of the draft, to shore up the quarterback position.

The Lions have, following their first selection of the draft, made an additional move, the eighth of the offseason, and have traded their third-round selection in the draft to the Dutch Prodigies, in exchange for quarterback Joe Chacon. The move brings a new era of quarterbacks for the Lions, with the team moving on from not only Napoleon Whitmore but also Harry Abney this season. In addition to free agent signing Kennith Burdette, the Lions have made the changes that many in the media felt were necessary, but for it to work, only time will tell.

Chacon, who started only 1 game last season finishes his career in Amsterdam with 1,787 yards and 7 touchdowns while being sacked 25 times, an average of 5.09 yards per game. In his only appearance of the season, he went 22/29 with 170 yards and a touchdown, with a QBR of 101.22. He played the entire 2022 season and finished with 1,617 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Lions will hope that Chacon has the same form he had in his only game of 2023 and not the 2022 form.

Speaking to the media at the draft, following the announcement by the Lions that the trade had been finalized, Head Coach James Jennings spoke about how he came around to looking at Chacon and how the Lions got the deal across the line:-

To be fair, we had our eye on a couple of quarterbacks in the draft, and sadly, it didn't turn out the way that we had hoped, even so much as getting one pick away from being able to and absolutely considering drafting one of them, but that didn't happen and a few people in the war room were busy thinking about we address the issue of our quarterbacks, we know that Kenny [Kennith Burdette] was going to compete for the starting job and we wanted to ensure that we had another stellar quarterback to compete against, and when we heard that Dutch was indeed looking to sell off Joe, we jumped at the chance and it actually was our first bid that we put in, it got accepted straight away, so we were impressed and delighted at the same time"

The Lions now, with the trade, hold a second-round selection tomorrow, currently slated for pick #50, and then will not pick again until Round 4, depending on further draft day trades.

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - The Lions have made their second pick of the first round and the second rookie to join the Lions' organisation.

With the 27th pick in the 2024 Electrosports Football League draft, the Penrith Lions have selected Peter Gant, a Defensive Tackle from the University of Arizona.

A four-year starter for the Wildcats, Peter impressed at the combine and his pro day, with an impressive 4.69 40-yard dash and 34 bench presses at both events. Peter finished his college career with 132 tackles across the four seasons he played in Tuscon, and was named on the All-Pac 12 second team two years straight, and also played in both the Las Vegas Bowl and the Alamo Bowl, where Arizona narrowly defeated Texas and Fresno State.

General Manager Todd Carlton spoke to the media following the conclusion of the day's proceedings, which was a departure from last season where he talked to the local media after each pick, and talked about the decision behind the selection of Peter Gant:-

"We were very impressed with what we saw from Peter at the combine and the pro day in Tuscon. Our scouts were looking at him along with plenty of other defensive players and we knew that it was an area we wanted to take on in the draft in some way, and it was just our lucky day that by the time our turn on the clock came around again, that we actually had the choice and we felt that for the system we are trying to build here heading into the new season, that Peter was a much stronger, versatile and solid pick to get straight into that system and I know he will be itching to get on the field in the preseason and make that position his own, not just now but into the future as well"

PENRITH, NSW - The Lions have begun Day 2 of the draft with a trade, dropping back a couple of spots whilst also picking up an additional pick later in the draft.

The Lions have made a draft pick swap with the Forbidden City Dragons, trading away the 50th pick in the draft, to move back two spots to Pick #52 whilst also picking up a fifth-round selection later on (Pick #160). Penrith drops back only two spots, to give more time to find the right player to draft, whilst picking up the additional pick to help boost the roster through the draft. The trade came through very late, right as the Lions were on the clock with the 50th pick, and it pushed the Lions into a somewhat rushed decision, but it was a decision that the war room felt was the right call.

In making the decision to swap picks, General Manager Todd Carlton talked about the rationale behind the trade, marking the second one with the Dragons in the draft period alone:-

"We have multiple options going at any one time during the draft and different plans, based on where the draft is sitting at that moment, and we want to make sure that we draft where we feel we need to and where we are sure that the player that we want to bring into the team, and we feel that at this moment, even with our pick happening right now, the Dragons came to us and on the phone, they offered us a very sensible deal, they wanted to move up two spots, letting us drop down two spots, reset our draft board, and make sure that we still have the best opportunity to draft the player that we want, while we also get an extra pick later on that we can either use or trade away. It is a win-win for us.

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - The Lions have drafted after dropping down two places in Round 2, and boosted the offence for the upcoming season.

With the 52nd pick in the 2024 Electrosports Football League Draft, the Penrith Lions select Steven Alvardo, a running back from Clemson.

A three-year starter for the Tigers, Steven was involved in three straight bowl game appearances for the Tigers. While Steven was not part of a college football national championship team during his time at Clemson, he finished his college career with nearly 4,750 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns, with an average of around 5.8 yards per game. He was named honourable mention All-ACC in 2022 and made it onto the First Team All-ACC last season, and was a two-time finalist of the Doak Walker Award.

Speaking to the media following the day's events, Steven spoke about his experience and what being drafted means:-

"I'm really looking forward to getting to know the players, my new teammate, the staff and coaches at Penrith, and I really am looking forward to that first day of rookie minicamp and training camp and getting stuck into learning the playbook, it's a lot different than in college, and getting right down to the business of proving to the team, and showing this team and the fans why they drafted me and have welcomed me into the Lions family, and I want to get out there and show those 31 other teams that they made a mistake not drafting me because I'm going to do whatever it takes to burn it up on the field"

Speaking after the draft closed for the day, General Manager Todd Carlton spoke about the decision to draft Steven in the second round and how it came about, along with all the trades being made by the team over the last day and a bit:-

"We felt that Steven was a solid fit and addition to our roster and we felt that having additional players in positions where we want to improve from last season and we feel that also, more competition across the roster is not a bad thing to do, as we will see our roster grow as everyone fights for each and every roster spot. We liked the ground game that Steven gives us, another option to run the ball, and another option to use when the game needs it, and we think that we have gotten ourselves, even after two days of the draft, into a position where we can be confident that we have the picks we need to draft where we want, and build our roster for the upcoming season.