The Lions were confirmed as the FB West division champions with an amazing 48-0 shutout victory over the Corpses, combined with a Florence loss (to Batman, 18-0) and a victory by Tillamook (against Hong Kong, in overtime, 9-3), it was enough to see the Lions clinch their spot in the postseason, marking a remarkable turnaround for a side that was struggling to manage a victory over the past two seasons. The win also ensures the Lions at least a 0.500 record in the division, something that Head Coach Roy Rodriguez was aiming for when he first took over this team last off-season.

“The rafters up there, only one postseason banner. Nowhere does it say league champion. Nowhere does it say division champions, that is what I am here to achieve for this franchise, and it starts with having a positive divisional record. You can not win a division with anything less than 3 wins against your own division. You play them twice a year, they have to be the opponents you beat first before the rest of the league comes knocking”

It was simply a one-sided matchup, the Corpses having no answer for the Lions on either side of the football, another 300+ yard game by Joe Chacon, with not a single interception, 133 rushing yards from Steven Alvarado, to go with 100 in the air, two touchdowns from tight end Antonio Jarvis and 5 sacks from defensive end Christopher Frase (as well as 8 tackles), the game was basically over by half time, with the Lions scoring on all bare 2 of their opening 6 drives, whilst intercepting quarterback Russell Lazaro twice, and forcing punt after punt.

The only sore note from the game was a nasty concussion for defensive end Seymour Clinkscales, which will likely see him miss next week’s game against Tillamook, but with the division wrapped up now, it may be the opportunity to see some of the backup players on the field, with the Lions likely to rest several starters to allow them to be fresh for the postseason, with a likely matchup against either the Dragons or Paris in store for the Lions as they head into only their second ever postseason matchup. The Lions, however, will be looking to emulate the 2022 squad, and achieve solid results in their final two games, starting with a return matchup against the Sharknado, and try to get that 10th victory of the season, maybe even an 11th.

Tillamook are coming into the game with nothing really to play for, and with the announcement earlier this week that the ownership team is planning on selling their stake in the franchise, with either a new owner next season, or a return to league ownership, there is a sense of wanting to go out there and play for the ownership and give the Sharknado possibly a positive send-off into the league history books. Another solid overtime victory, this time against the Kings, shows promise in a side that has scored only on average 9.5 points per game in their last four, and has one of the lowest pass completion rates in the league, giving up a league worse when it comes to pass completions, something that Joe Chacon has not struggled with over the last month of football; completing on average 30 passes a game (averaging around 46 pass attempts a game over the same four games).

The rushing game has also taken an improvement, with Alvarado averaging 69 yards per game over the past four games with Snow sitting with an average of 50.5 yards in his last four games. They also have scored five touchdowns this season, a marked improvement from the past two seasons when they have managed only four combined (2023 and 2024 seasons). The receivers have also been showing solid improvements, with it likely that at least three receivers will make it over 500 yards on the season, and while there is still improvements to be made, there is at least a glimmer of hope that the Lions could do some damage and cause an upset if the cards are laid out all right on the day for them.

Game Prediction: Can’t see the Lions getting a fourth-straight win here, Tillamook to eek out a tight victory

In a game that really didn’t mean much to either side, with the division wrapped up, postseason not in the future for the Sharknado, and the Lions opting to rest a few players throughout the game, the Lions managed to only come away with a close 9-3 loss to Tillamook, the offense seemingly looking like they were just there to make up the numbers rather than being there to play a game of football. Penrith only seeing the scoreboard off the boot of Jeffery Paz, with a 20-yard field goal halfway through the second quarter. While it looked like on the stat sheet that the Lions had the share of the football, forced into three punts and an interception across the opening four drives was never going to be much to win a football game, the Sharknado made the Lions pay for some really silly decisions.

Speaking after the game, Team Owner Leam Mark Farrar was confident that while the result didn’t matter that much, that the team would be ready for the postseason:-

“Look, we never put into the plan to reach the postseason this quickly, and it is a testament to the hard work, commitment and dedication that every player on the roster, Coach Rodriguez and his staff and everyone else who has played a part in this season, has put into managing to be where we are. We have had some tough losses and some great wins, and I think and feel that no matter what happens next week, or in the postseason that we have achieved a lot of goals, some right on schedule to what we planned for, some ahead of that schedule, and some we are still working on. I’m just so proud of the effort and bring on the postseason”

The Lions will be looking with one eye towards the postseason but first they will need to round out the regular season with a final divisional matchup to conclude, and it’s against the Corpses who only two weeks earlier were pummled 48-0 by a Lions team that was hungry and wrapped it up with the division title. The team will proudly raise their first divisional title banner into the rafters at halftime, and while the players will watch from the locker room whilst this goes on, they know that the season is not going to be close to over, they will still have at least one more game to play through. With the Lions most likely locked into the fourth seed in the postseason, there is still a small chance of moving up in the postseason picture, as that depends on the Phoenix vs Dragons match, and should the Lions win along with a Heliopolis loss, 10 wins would potentially see Penrith go up to the 3rd seed, and face a likely resurgent Hong Kong Kings side, or even a Cheesy Philly side that beat the Lions back in Week 3, depending on results (the FB South sides play against each other this week; Philly against Los Angeles and Hong Kong up against Nice).

If the Lions don’t manage all of that, they are at least secured in the postseason as the fourth seed, which will see them face off against most likely Nice (who beat the Lions back in Week 6) or Paris (who haven’t played against Penrith since Week 6 last season, a win for the Lions). With both sides essentially peaking at the right time, it could prove to be quite the matchup for the Lions to open the postseason, and despite the match being at The Lions Den, it could be a step too far for a side that many didn’t even predict would get this far, or even win the division this season. Further to the postseason matchup carousel, a matchup against Forbidden City (who are still fighting for the FB North division title) is unlikely to occur, it is something that is not on the mind of Head Coach Roy Rodriguez at the moment:-

“Our focus is on finishing off the regular season against the Corpses. We want to win this match as much as they do. I know the pundits will be talking this week about where we sit in the postseason conversation, are we just there to make up the numbers or do we have a chance, how much of a chance we have, and they will likely be talking about the Corpses and their financial and ownership situation and what it means for them heading into the draft and offseason, but that is just the media and the noise that we have to deal with as football players and coaches. Our focus is on the game at hand, this weekend’s game and preparing for that. Nothing else”

Game Prediction:Yeah, a Lions win to give us some positive momentum heading into the postseason.

The final game of the regular season ended in a whimper for the Lions, going down 6-3 to the Corpses, but in a turn of events, the Corpses getting the W prevented them from obtaining the 1st overall pick in the upcoming draft, so the Lions may have not played many of the regular starters, but they were able to spoil the party just a little bit. There really was not much to report from the game, with the only highlight being the kicking from both Jeffery Paz (24-yard field goal, close to half time) and then Elsa Pato with two field goals at both ends of the third and fourth quarter.

After the game, Head Coach Roy Rodriguez was clearly already working on where his team was heading and what they had to look forward to next week:-

“We are already focussed on Paris next week, right after the game, I made it clear that our focus in that locker room, and our focus this week will be on the Wildcard game and facing Paris. Regular Season results mean nothing now, it’s one and done. We have to be on the ball, we have to be ready from the opening whistle for them. Both teams will be hungry to come out of the gates to make their point clear, and we need to be the ones who get ahead from the start, otherwise; it will be a tough and long game”
The Lions, with all the results, will face off against Paris, something that was announced across the loudspeaker towards the end of the Corpses game, and many fans are already excited for the chance to face off against a team that the Lions beat 13-6 last time these two teams face off against each other, but many other fans and pundits already feeling like the Lions are well and truly out of their depth and will struggle to manage to stick with the 13-2-1 Paris team that looks clearly to be on the right track, winning their last four games by an average of 13 points, and have restricted three of those opponents to less than 10 points.

Paris also heads into the postseason with a quarterback in Mixolydian Fugue who, despite not throwing a touchdown in their last game against Star City, has managed an average of 197 yards per game over the last four, with only two sacks, thanks in part to a strong offensive line that is also seeing well in excess of 80 play blocks per game across the line, and whilst they do see some higher tackle numbers, they are more than capable of protecting Fugue and giving him the time to make the throw downfield. On the other hand, Joe Chacon was the equal 7th most sacked quarterback this season with 43 (losing a total of 346 yards in the process), and the equal most interceptions this season with 22 (alongside Hmmm Goodenough from Florence), and while he has the arm to throw it, having thrown the second most touchdowns this season, the interceptions and sacks will undoubtedly come back to bite the Lions in the behind, and I just can’t see the Lions making this one stick.

For the Lions to win, they are going to have to restrict Paris to some unbelievable numbers, force error upon error on almost every drive, and just hope to the football gods that something happens that gives them the lucky breaks, because even the league pundits this week are all predicting a Paris victory, but coming from Team Owner Leam Mark Farrar, the Lions are in a good spot and this is just the icing on the cake, they aren’t fazed by the underdog status, they are looking towards the future:-

“To be in the postseason is a great achievement for everyone here, the hard work that has gone in this season has shown that we are on the way back. We never planned that a postseason run was on the cards this year, we just wanted to be a team that played competitive and exciting football and the results will come with that, and we have seen that this season and if it means being bundled out in the Wildcard, so be it. If it doesn’t, then we go again next week against our next opponent. The whole team is buzzing with excitement and thrilled that our actions on the field that have defined our season are here for the fans and supporters to see for one more week, and we love it. Win or lose, the whole team has done great this season and I can’t wait for next season. Bring it on!”

Game Prediction: Sadly, we think the Lions will be too outmatched on this one and Paris will head through, ending the Lions' season.

The new league season was officially launched last night, and with that; the Penrith Lions have officially been informed of their draft selections for the upcoming draft, with the Lions slated to pick 19th overall, along with 5 other selections. Along with the 19th overall pick, the 115th, 147th, 153rd, 158th and 180th selections.

The Lions currently do not hold a second, third or seventh-round selection, having previously traded the second-round selection to Stockholm as part of a draft pick swap that netted the Lions defensive end Len Price, as well as linebackers William Williams and Paul George and former tight end Anthony Rodriguez, having on-traded the second of the picks received from Stockholm to Forbidden City. The third-round selection was traded to the Corpses as part of wide receiver Brian Lecuyer returning to Penrith after one season. Penrith traded away the seventh-round selection to Cheesy Philly at the last draft to select defensive end Robert Campbell.

The Lions did also trade away their fifth and sixth-round selections, however, they received picks in those rounds from Forbidden City as part of a late draft deadline trade with the Dragons, in which the Lions sent across a third and seventh-round selection in the 2028 draft to the Dragons.

Speaking to the media after the event, General Manager Todd Carlton was confident that the Lions could make improvements over the offseason and looked forward to the remainder of free agency, the draft and the trade period, hoping to make some serious moves with the roster:-

"We are pleased to have locked down the players we wanted to hold onto prior to this off-season, and we are pleased that the free agents who have come onto the market that we targeted have joined our team. The coaching staff is getting things ready, and we are focussing on the draft as well, doing our final evaluations and conversations with the rookies we are interested in. We have the combine starting tomorrow and then we have interviews with plenty of players, as well as pro days to attend, so it is busy times for everyone, but we also hope that with the production of our trade block list, which has now gone out to the league that we can develop conversations with other teams are really push to find trade options and targets and not only bring in some veteran talent across areas where we want to improve and bolster the roster, but also draft picks that we can use on the best talent coming into the league from the college ranks. It's about a solid balance between all of those aspects and how we are heading into the remainder of free agency"

With the first round of the draft almost completed, the league have also released the new schedule for the 32 teams fighting for the league title this season. With a new team in the division, there is some excitement to the new season. 16 games to get through, and 4 pre-season games, it is all here for us to pour over and explain the season to you.

The first month of games, what does it look like?
In a strange twist of fate, the Lions will be heading away from home for the opening month of games, with two divisional games and two games against other teams within the conference. The opening game will be against the Florence Fools, the first time since 2024 that the Lions will face off against a divisional rival in Week 1 and also the second straight season they will start the season away from home (and also second straight with at least two straight away games to start). Week 2 will see the Lions face off against Forbidden City, who have traded with their Week 4 opponent in the Nottingham Arrows for the first overall draft pick today. Week 3 will see the Lions head off to Gravesend and face the Corpses, who will be looking to bounce back from their disastrous season.

Our division looks different this season. What’s the deal there?
We have sadly had to say goodbye to the Tillamook Sharknado, who have been sold and have relocated to North York, Canada and have become the North York Wildcats. We will have a chance to visit their new location in Week 15, and this will also be our final divisional game of the season. Alongside visiting Florence in Week 1 and the Corpses in Week 3, we welcome Florence to The Lions Den in Week 11 and the Corpses in Week 7, and the Wildcats in Week 13.

Our schedule looks a bit uniform this season?
That’s correct. In addition to the four opening away fixtures, we then have a four-game home stand between Weeks 5 to 8, then another two games away (to both Maastricht and Star City) and then our final four home games all bunched together in Weeks 11 to 14. Our final two games of the regular season are away from home, so plenty of home fixtures in a row to come and show your support to the Lions this season.

Our preseason games are there as well, what are they?
We are facing off against both the Batman Robins and Echunga Echidnas at home this preseason, with the Echidnas game being the second edition of the Australia Cup, a trophy that the Lions would love to get their hands on. We will see the Robins again for the second-straight season (and the second-straight preseason). Our away games will be starting off against the Cape Town Rhinos, a team we last faced in 2023, and again, we face off against the Edlington Anarchy, a team we are very familiar with, having played at least once every season so far. This will be our fifth matchup against them, and we currently lead the H2H 4-1 (last time, a tough 7-6 victory).

With all our home games bunched together, what games are at home and when does the home stand end this season?
Week 14 will be our last home game of the regular season (baring any postseason play potentially). That game will be on December 6th against the Sumpan Crazy Wolves. Besides playing three home games against our divisional rivals, we will also welcome the Nice Baguettes, Heliopolis Phoenix and the Wausau War Elephants to town, and finally another newly relocated team, the Bwindi Silverbacks (formerly the Entebbe Elders).

The final month of games... let’s see what they are.
So, we have two home games and two away games to finish off the season. Week 13 will see us finish off the divisional slate of games with a home game against the North York Wildcats, before finishing off the home stand against Sumpan. We then travel up to North York to again face the Wildcats before ending our 2026 regular season against the Harnosand Harbourmasters, a team we haven’t faced since the 2023 season (Week 4, a 3-0 loss), so we will be hoping to square the ledger up there this season.

PENRITH, NSW – The Lions have made a trade with the Hong Kong Kings to bolster the defense heading into the new season.

The Penrith Lions have traded away a sixth-round selection in the 2027 draft as well as a third-round selection in the 2029 draft to the Hong Kong Kings in exchange for linebacker Jackson Real, who was just drafted a few days ago by the Kings and will now start his football career with the Lions.

In making the trade, General Manager Todd Carlton talked about how impressed they were at the combine numbers of Jackson and how the trade was done so late and after preseason as well as how Jackson will adjust to the training for the Lions after spending camp with the Kings:-

“We found it important to make some changes, we wanted to ensure that we aren’t just treading water for a season, because I know many will wonder about our decision not to participate in the draft beyond the first round, and while we did look at a few options to trade back into the draft at later stages when we identified several players that could be solid players for us moving forward, we felt that the price that we would have to pay would be too high for us to manage, so we played our cards the way we felt that we needed to and when the Kings opened up and offered out Jackson to the league, we jumped in and were able to finalize a deal that not only gave us a rookie and a great addition to the defense but also ensured that we didn’t give up the world to get him. Those future picks are going to be managed and we will see how they play out over the coming years”.

PENRITH, NSW – The Lions have made another defensive trade, this time with the Raptors.

The Penrith Lions have received linebacker Oswald Entwhistle from the Ulaanbaatar Raptors, whilst handing over another future draft pick, this time a sixth-round selection in the 2028 draft. This trade puts another new face onto the defensive line of the Lions, with the Lions facing a small injury crisis at linebacker with several players already on the injury list for some time.

Following the trade, General Manager Todd Carlton spoke about how the trade was made and why the Lions opted to make a trade rather than head into free agency to fill the gaps that are appearing on the defensive line:-

“We felt that it was more important to us to find the best possible solution to the problem at hand, and that we are clear about what that is. We have suffered some nasty injuries over the last few games, and it may only be preseason but we are serious that we wanted to find the best possible replacement, and not someone who can come in for a couple of weeks and then we send them packing once our more established starters return. We wanted to find someone who could fight for that position, who can be there on the field as not just a replacement, but a genuine improvement to our side and we feel that Oswald is just that person. He’s here to play, not just to replace, he will take it to the other linebackers and prove to us that he is someone we want to keep around for many more years”