If there was ever a statement to be made by this team, it was that game against Nice. Racking up the points, with an emphatic 72-6 victory, one of the largest seen so far in the season and a score that will probably take some time to break. The Lions keep their perfect start, having also gone 4-0 in the preseason. But they will be tested this week, with a visit to the Balsicas Bullfighters, who coming into the match on the back of a tight 9-3 loss and a defence that kept them in the game almost to the end. The last two minutes hurt them and allowed the Slamhounds to win it.

Penrith come in with all the momentum and hope to keep it going, with four touchdowns from Napoleon Whitmore to set things going for the season, along with both wide receivers Tony Lockett and Franklin Adkins garnering over 10-yard averages in the game, many will be wondering if the Lions are the real deal, or this was just a fluke. A lot more positives from the game, with the defence coming up trumps as well, restricting the Baguettes to 69 rushing yards, and 182 yards in the air, with those yards having to come from 55 attempts from quarterback Fromage Homage. The concern is that the Lions gave up 18 first downs, the most so far from them this season, however, with the earlier than expected return of the likes of both Nicholas Shropshire and even Andrew Robertson, the defence could be a bit more shored up and could present a problem to the Bullfighters.

Balsicas will, however, have to probably look towards Danny Petulance to guide them on the field, with starter Tiberius Shambles potentially having to miss the game with a injured hand. Whether or not it is his throwing hand remains to be seen. They will also have to do with a makeshift ground game, with both running backs in Jerry Mohawk, Tony Blunderbuss and Omar Jamboree as well as fullback Francis Globular out with quite some time. Time will tell if undrafted backs Jorge Marshall and Johnny Neu can steady the ship, with a Bullfighters team that let in 19 first downs last week. The positives look to be in the defence, with the Bullfighters only allowing 2 first downs on the ground, so it could be an aerial showing for the fans on Sunday.

As reported earlier by Head Coach James Jennings, it looks likely that Nicholas Shropshire and Andrew Robertson will be back a couple of weeks earlier and look likely to travel with the squad and play their first games on the season, coming back from nasty injuries that earlier were set to leave them on the sidelines for some time:

“Both of them look likely to pass fit, we have our captain’s run tomorrow before we head off to Balsicas, and if they both get through that session with ease as they seem to have this week, the medical staff see no reason to not give them the approval to dress and play in the game, which will be a great boost not just to the defensive tackles, but to the whole squad. We are seeing a great bond forming across the squad across the season so far and I hope to see and keep that going forward and winning matches”

With their return creates a selection problem for Jennings, with fullback David Diaz, unfortunately, forced out as they are opting to go in with running back Frank Bell and Robert Seibert to the game, as well as Keith Gannon, who has also made a full recovery from his earlier injury two weeks ago slated as inactive for the game.

Game Prediction: Lions again, but really not thinking of another “run up the score” game. Winning it by 7

PENRITH, NSW - The Lions have made a roster move via another trade with Porth Emmett.

The Penrith Lions today traded safety Matthew Malpass to the Porth Emmett Auctioneers in return for linebacker Willam Galindo and a third-round selection in the 2024 draft.

Malpass, a sixth-round selection in the foundation draft, had been injured since preseason and was looking at a return in several weeks, having already shown some promise with two tackles in the game against Montevideo earlier. He was fighting to return and would have fought for the starting safety position alongside Douglas Dunham, who has impressed the team in his time so far.

Galindo, who was undrafted from West Virginia, had seen little to no play time for the Auctioneers and will slot right into the linebackers' room with the injury to Paul Quick, so there will be the expectation that he can slot in and perform from day one.

Speaking after the trade was finalized, Director of Player Personnel Johnathan Cartwright discussed the trade and how it came about:

Well, we had been in talks with free agents and other means to cover our linebacker question, with Paul [Quick] going down last game and looking like being out for some time, so we had started going around the room and discussing what our options would be. There was some preliminary discussions with some free agents, but then we received the offer for Matthew [Malpass] along with the draft pick and quickly, the discussions turned to whether or not they would be willing to include an additional player in the trade. I think after it is all said and done, we have not only brought some more youth into the squad, but we have strengthened where we wanted and picked up an additional draft pick that can be used moving forward.

The Lions now currently hold six selections in the 2024 draft and will continue to entertain discussions with draft picks and players between now and the trade deadline in Week 8.

UPDATE: the trade has been updated, with the Lions and Auctioneers agreeing to change the draft pick that was involved, with the third-round selection being returned to the Auctioneers, and the Auctioneers sending a second-round selection in the 2024 draft to the Lions.

The Lions came crashing back down to earth last week, suffering a 17-7 loss to the Bullfighters, with many fans saying that the team was “too cocky” and “bit too big for their boots” after the previous week, some even saying that they got too excited that they would “romp it home”. They did, have the chance to pull it out of the bag on the final drive, when, with 1:41 left in the game, the Lions fumbled the ball after the offensive line just collapsed around Napoleon Whitmore, which allowed the Bullfighters to waste the last 90 seconds in a couple of easy run plays and two victory formations.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach James Jennings was not only furious at his team, but did offer congratulations to the Bullfighters:

“I don’t want to seem like that was our game to win, the Bullfighters did everything right, they played to their strengths and really showed us the weakness that we have in our squad. We have some serious soul searching to do after that one, and I know each and every single guy in that locker room is feeling this one today, not just because of the loss on the record, but because we just were not able to match it against a divisional rival. Balsicas deserve that and they should hold their heads high after that one”

Many of the team on the flight home were quiet, very little talking, despite the closeness of the game, with some saying that the mood was one of sombre, trying to erase that one but also looking towards next week.

The Lions, this week, face off against the 0-2 Sumpan Crazy Wolves, who were shutout against the Sharknado 17-0. They will look to bounce back and get that first victory of the season, while the Lions will be looking to exploit any weakness and get back into the winners circle. The Crazy Wolves were anything but crazy against Tillamook, only achieving a total of 71 yards in the whole game, and with Donald Brown still out with as foot injury, it seems harder than it looks with Richard Covey under center; his first outing only resulting in 68 yards and an interception to go alongside the three sacks he suffered. There is some bright lights with the Crazy Wolves, the defence looks solid, having restricted their opponents to an average of 19.5 points per game, third least of the teams currently at 0-2 so far. Led off the line by safety Francis Martinez, the Lions will need to look for a way to stifle his output if they are really going to be worth a chance of getting the victory.

It is also going to require a lot more from the offensive line than last week, with the line allowing 5 tackles through and the sack on Whitmore. If the Lions are going to be in with a shot, they need the likes of Roy Cruz and the returning Paul Hayze to be on song and getting right into it from the opening drive. The Lions will be buoyed by the return of David Diaz to the squad, as well as Paul Hayze. Penrith will also miss the skills of linebacker Paul Quick for several weeks, after suffering a leg fracture in the game, with Defensive Coordinator Brian Langdon speaking about how the team plans to work around that moving forward:

“It’s a real shame to lose a player like Paul for some time in the season, but we have a resliant linebacker corps, as well as across the whole defence and we have made some solid moves to shore up our defence. They are slotting into the assignments quite well and I think we are going to be fine moving forward, and we will be even stronger when Paul returns to training in a few weeks, we hope”

Game Prediction: Got last week wrong, but I think the Lions will take this one and go to 2-1, winning by 7

PENRITH, NSW - The Lions have made another trade to shore up the defence heading into the next phase of the season.

The Penrith Lions have come to an agreement to trade a sixth-round selection in the draft to Cheesy Philly for linebacker Gregory Grieve. The agreement reached moments ago was a brief discussion and firms up the linebacker group for the Lions, whilst trading away a sixth-round choice that the Lions had two of in the upcoming draft.

The trade also brings another rookie to the Lions squad, now standing at 16. Grieve, a thirty-fifth round selection by Philly in the foundation draft, featured in both of Philly's regular season games and joins the Lions with 21 tackles and a sack to his name and will look to make his mark on the linebacker corps within the team for the remainder of the season.

General Manager Todd Carlton, who recently returned from personal leave, was thrilled with the acquisition of Grieve and talked about how simple the deal was to get done:

"We looked at our defence and we wanted to make sure that not only are we covered with the injury to Paul [Quick] last week, but that moving forward we are stronger, and become even stronger when he comes back. We liked what we saw from Grieve, and knew that Philly was looking to offload him, and rather than sit there and wait, and play chicken with the waiver wire; we thought, for a rookie, and Philly only wanting a sixth-round draft pick, that it was in our best interests to skip the waiver wire frenzy potentially, and just trade for him, so he can train with the team this week and be ready to slot right in for our game against the Crazy Wolves"

Penrith again now holds seven selections in the 2023 draft, three of them being their own, with the other four all coming through trades. The Lions will face the 0-2 Crazy Wolves on Sunday.

PENRITH, NSW - In another late-night trade move, the Lions garner more draft picks

The Penrith Lions have traded away starting left tackle Roy Cruz to the Stockholm North Stars for tackle William Heston as well as two draft picks in the 2024 draft. The Lions have secured a fifth-round and sixth-round selection in the 2024 draft, bringing them to a total of 8 selections.

Cruz, an 11-year veteran out of California, drafted in the eighth round of the foundation draft, started in all four games of the preseason, amassing 206 play blocks, and a tackle for the Lions in the preseason but saw limited time on the field in the regular season, and looked to have dropped down the depth chart with Thomas Wright and even Robert Taylor garnering more playing time.

Heston, drafted out of Iowa by the North Stars in the sixteenth round of the foundation draft, also started in all four preseason games and both regular season games for the North Stars, picking up 149 play blocks, but did allow 2 sacks on quarterback James Marrero in those two games and will look to solidify a starting spot in the tackle position over the coming weeks. Speaking to a couple of journalists at the team's facility; Head Coach James Jennings spoke about how the arrival of Heston will affect the gameplan for Sunday's matchup against the Crazy Wolves:

"We honestly don't see any difference in how we are going to plan to play this game, we have our game plan in place, we know what we all have to achieve, and what we are here to strive for. Welcoming William into the squad will be as simple as it has been. I know some people may question why give up an 11-year veteran of the game, for someone who seems to be, again, un-tried and un-tested, but honestly, we see the potential for our roster over the rest of this season and for years to come."

The Lions have made no further changes to the game day squad following the addition of Heston to the squad, as Heston will take the active spot that was originally Cruz.

The Lions head into what can only be described as a grudge match this week, on the back of a shutout 24-0 victory, and know that it will take everything that they have to match it up against the Bullfighters, who shocked the Lions only two weeks ago, and will be hoping for more of the same whilst the Lions will be looking to avenge that loss and come away with an even spread in the division.

The Lions looked like the team that was perfect through preseason again with a dominating performance, led spectacularly by Napoleon Whitmore, throwing for 213 yards, however, it was the ground game that stole the show with David Diaz and even Whitmore getting the two touchdowns for the game running into the endzone, and Jeffery Paz joining in with another three field goals for the season. The Crazy Wolves just had no response to the Lions, finding it extremely difficult to get any traction on their drives, with nine punts, and their best drive coming up short with a field goal miss.

The Lions will take on the Bullfighters who are coming into the game off the back of the victory in Week 2, and a very tight loss to the Forbidden City Dragons. The signs are there for the Bullfighters, with quarterback Tiberius Shambles finally finding his footing, and getting into the games with two touchdowns in his last two starts to go with nearly 350 yards. He is also developing a strong bond with the offensive line, who have limited both the Lions and Dragons to only two sacks on Shambles. They are also finding a much stronger offense, with an average of 72 offensive plays a game, which is restricting the ball time the opposition is getting, with the Lions facing the Bullfighters defense for just under 21 minutes in Week 2, and around the same for the Dragons.

For the Lions to win, they need to be holding onto the ball more often and for a lot longer. They only average around half the game (30:55) so far this season, and while they have the highest scoring offense, and Whitmore as one of the top 5 quarterbacks at the moment this season, if the Bullfighters can focus their defense on getting more stalled drives like they did in Week 2, they will have a chance to win this game.

The Lions will have to deal with this game without defensive end Joseph Hoops, who still has not been cleared to play by the medical staff, with Head Coach James Jennings saying that he should be ready to return in Week 5. The Lions will also still be missing the likes of defensive tackle Andrew Robertson and tackle Brian Fernandez, who have suffered injuries that look likely to keep them out for the next couple of weeks, while both Fernando Houser and William Galindo will miss the game and be inactive.

Speaking at his mid week press conference, Head Coach Jennings spoke about how the team bounced back from the loss and how the team is tracking heading into what many call the end of the first quarter of the season:

”We really found our groove against the Crazy Wolves and we want to ensure that we stick to our game plan. We have great coaches who can really analyse the game and find the best for our team. Find what works, how we make it work and where we can exploit those strengths to our advantage, whilst also finding what our weaknesses are, and making sure we limit the exposure our game plan has to those weaknesses. I think so far, three games in, to be sitting at 2-1, we are in a good spot. There is still a lot to go in this season and I think that many coaches, and owners will be pleased with where they are right now, some won’t be. We are confident that we are on the right track and we will stick to the plans we have, knowing that we have such a long way to go.”

Game Prediction: I think the Lions avenge the loss in Week 2 and come away with a 10 point victory.

The Lions head into the first of their three game road trip with the Nottingham Arrows on the back of a hard fought 14-13 victory over the Bullfighters, in a rematch that was anything but friendly. The Lions had to fight hard for the win in the second half, with the Bullfighters coming out with more of the defense and even more of the ball, something the Lions have been strong with all season so far.

The Lions looked the better of the two squads in the first half, scoring both of their two touchdowns between Napoleon Whitmore (28/40, 246 yards, 92.29 QBR) and Brian Lecuyer (9 receptions for 86 yards). Whatever happened at the half time break didn’t work, as the Bullfighters were able to almost waltz back into the game on the back of two touchdowns of his own from Tiberius Shambles. Only the wayward kicking of Elsa Pato made the difference, missing the final PAT with only 74 seconds left, allowing the Lions to have the chance to put the game away. Getting the onside kick helped to preserve the win.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach James Jennings was critical of his teams’ performance:

“We really let them back into the game. I am not sure what happened in that second half, but we just could not keep the ball for any period. We plain sucked in that second half, and it is a credit again to the Bullfighters for the efforts they put in to get back into the game. They really have our number and if I look at this in a positive way, I think we are starting to see a good and intense rivalry starting here, and in a division like ours, it is going to be great twice a year to see the Bullfighters.”

The Lions now head into what is looking like the hardest part of the schedule, with a matchup against the Nottingham Arrows first up, who are coming off a remarkably close loss last week (17-15 loss to the Auctioneers) and will be looking to bounce right back into the winner's circle. They come into the game looking like a solid team, with the likes of Randy Tooley being a dual threat, able to catch the ball downfield and on the run plays as well. The Lions will need to keep an eye out for him throughout the game. Defensively, the Arrows will rely on both linebacker Ernest Wade and safety John Walker to provide the push needed to keep the Lions at bay, with both racking up solid tackle numbers so far.

The Lions will again look towards Napoleon Whitmore to lead the team under center, another solid performance from him could be the difference between a win and a loss, along with the likes of Tony Lockett, who has had a couple of quiet games, but is primed for a breakout hopefully this week. If the Lions want to even have a chance at winning this, they need to shut down the Arrows defense, which is giving up only 9.25 points per game, awfully close with the Lions at an average of 9 points a game. The Arrows will again rely highly on the skills of Tooley and Schoenberg to link up and provide as much of the offense as possible, so the Lions need to ensure that the likes of defensive tackles Nicholas Shropshire, Henry Lange and cornerbacks like Luis Walsh are up to the task and are ready to go from the opening kick-off.

The Lions will face the Arrows without starting right guard Patrick Shepherd who was ruled out this week for up to two months with a nasty knee injury but are hopeful of seeing him back on the field towards the end of the season. The Lions will also be without Brian Fernandez again, missing with his leg sprain again. The good news on the injury front is that medically, running back Ricky Hall is looking more likely to be returning to training this week and could be in line to return once the Lions get back home from this road trip, with some saying that he is looking increasingly hungry to get out there and show what he can do for the fans and the team, but knows that Frank Bell, in his absence, has been an amazing part of this run so far for the team.

Game Prediction: As much as we hate going against the Lions, they are up against it this week. Arrows to win in a close one, by 5 points we say.