If there ever was a game of the season for the Lions, it had to be this one. Despite the result, this reporter can honestly say that it was the most fun had by the Lions fans in some time, with many walking away not upset at the 13-13 result, but upbeat at the future of this franchise, and many optimistic that the Lions do indeed have a bright future ahead of them. Nobody really came away with the thoughts that the Lions threw the game away, being up 13-0 at the end of the first quarter, it was more so the onslaught of the Echidnas after that intermission that blew the Lions away and still gave the understanding that there is a gap to which the Lions still need to get over to be competitive with the upper echelons in the league.

Rookie quarterback John Decaro had another solid outing, his third start, going 26-for-33, with 213 yards and a brilliant drive to secure the touchdown to wide receiver Dane Blackburn, and has shown in just three games what the Lions fan are going to get with him into the future, and while the Echidnas offence went ballistic on the ground, racking up over 200 yards alone, the hammering that they gave ultimately came up trumps as Echunga clawed their way back to eventually force overtime, even as Penrith had the chance in the dying moments of regulation to win it, it was just not enough for either side as they etched out a tie, the first time for the Lions in their franchise history.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach Roy Rodriguez was looking more at the positives rather than how the game fell out of their grasp, and how they look towards the remaining three weeks of the season:

“You can fault the guys for that one, yeah, the result doesn’t look pretty, giving up such a good lead and not being able to win it, but that is not a thing we are really focussed on, we are more focussed on being the best possible side that we can be. We see a game like that, as one of those physical games, where we are and were tested every single time, and that we didn’t give up from. Echunga are a great side, and they are a quality team to face, and for us to be at this stage, where we are fighting against them for a victory, and to come away with a tie, it’s showing the dedication, commitment and perseverance of our roster. I’m prouder of our guys after that game then I am after any other victory”.

The Lions now have three games to manage something, but with many saying that a 6-win season is better than expected already, there are still some who feel that it will be a wasted season without a push for the postseason. Penrith will need to be on their A-game, as they face off against the division leading Cheesy Philly this week, another team they are yet to defeat in three previous attempts, and who will be looking to square up their own division title either this week as they hold all the cards against the likes of Nice and High River, who need to hope for a shock Penrith victory and wins themselves to keep the pressure on Philly. Penrith, on the other hand, need to essentially win out and hope both Florence and High River slip up this week, since the Lions face off against both the Fools and Wildcats in Weeks 15 and 16. It essentially boils down to this match this week that will decide if Penrith hang on for another week, or if they face elimination from postseason contention.

That all being said, Philly coming into the game off the back of a 17-6 loss to High River show that even the top ranked teams can be beaten on any day, and it makes a fourth loss in five games for Philly, who have seen star quarterback Will Smith all but become nothing over that period of time. From the highs of league MVP only two seasons ago, to 911 yards (and 3 touchdowns) in his last four starts, the questions being raised could be even louder as to how long Philly last with him at this level, much like the questions that were circling around Penrith earlier this season before they made the switch over to John Decaro, who has brought Penrith to a 2-0-1 record since taking over, and has seen Penrith manage on average 183.6 yards per game with three touchdowns and a single interception (slightly less than the 187.9 yards per game for Chacon in his ten starts), it has been the touchdown and interceptions that have seen the biggest improvement, Chacon taking four interceptions in just the opening game this season, and a total of 5 touchdowns all season, critics are seriously questioning why it took the coaching staff that long to make the switch.

Penrith, however, are going into the game with a little bit of an injury crisis, with some players pulling up a little sorer than normal after that bruising encounter with Echunga, most notably running back Adrienne Vachement, who was subsequently released by the Lions following the knee injury suffered late into overtime, and scans confirmed that it would be season all but over, with the Lions opting to release the running back as they had already indicated they would not be offering a new deal to Vachement at this stage. They have confirmed this week that they will support Adrienne through the rehabilitation. Penrith will also be without defensive end Len Price for what might also be the rest of the season after his nasty leg injury, with the likelihood being at least four weeks, so he may make a remarkable return if the Lions make it into the postseason. Both running back Joel Coder and offensive tackle Tyler Jones both passed fitness tests this morning and have been confirmed to take their part in the match this weekend, while safety Miguel Logan and Barry Valle both breezed through training, despite being both under an injury cloud this week.

Game Prediction: Sorry Lions fans, we think that Philly will just have enough to take the victory and knock Penrith out of contention for an unlikely postseason berth, but the signs are there for the future.

The Lions took it to Cheesy Philly but came up just short as they went down 13-9, eliminating the Lions from postseason contention, but with two more games remaining in the season, the Lions can rest a little bit easier, but could also still cause some issues within the division, as they face off against both North York and Florence in consecutive weeks. With the season on the line, Penrith pulled out all the stops to make it worthwhile, pushing out to a 9-3 lead into halftime, but again, it was the tired legs that were the undoing of the Lions, with Philly managing to not only intercept John Decaro in the dying seconds of the third quarter to take the lead, but forced Penrith into 6 punts and limited them to two drives of more than 10 yards in the whole second half, and whilst their own drive chart doesn’t look any more good than the Lions, they were able to take their chances and make them stick as they not only came away with the victory, but also secured their second straight divisional title, and fourth overall; while the Lions will ponder what might have been this season.

Rookie quarterback John Decaro did enough again to warrant his selection to lead the offense, with a 206 yard game, and another touchdown, but his inexperience was on clear show today, suffering four sacks and the interception that led to Philly taking the lead, statistically his worse game, but many are confident that he will be a better player for it, especially after coming out for a couple of plays late on in the game, forcing Joe Chacon to make a reappearance, going 0-for-2, and providing nothing of importance to a game that was still worth playing for.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach Roy Rodriguez was still full of praise for his squad, despite the loss ending their season, he could still talk highly about what it all means heading into next season:

“Yeah, it hurts to lose any game, and it hurts even more when a loss ends your season. The guys are hurting, the coaches are hurting but we talked about the positives from it. It may not seem like it now, but there are plenty of positives to take from this game, from this season. We have performed to a high standard, and we have not given up, even when so many around us, commentators, the media, and even that little voice in the back of our mind, telling us all that we had given up, that the season was a write-off, that we should just pack up and start again next season. We didn’t listen to any of that, we listened to ourselves and the drive we all had, from training camp, through preseason and right up to now, that we would not give up until we had nothing left, and that we had left it all out on the field. The whole squad did that, every single week, and we will do that for these last two games coming up as well”.

The Lions now get to finish off the season without the weight of pushing for a postseason berth, or the weight of much else than playing enjoyable football, and having a good time, as they not only face off against two divisional opponents, but also have a little bit of a party pooper vibe going on, as they will play against the North York Wildcats, hoping that they can take the season matchups against the Wildcats, first time since 2026 that they have won both encounters, while the Wildcats will be looking for another victory and keeping themselves right there for the division title. It all boils down to this game, if the Wildcats lose, and Florence (who are playing against Compton) win, then Florence take the title, whilst if they both win, then it will come down to the Florence/Penrith game in Week 16 (North York face Derry in the final weekend).

For a game that doesn’t mean much, the Lions can take it a little easier but will still want to push as hard as possible to get another victory, but they have also confirmed following the game that both defensive end Len Price and offensive tackle Tyler Jones will both miss the final two games of the season with their respective injuries and that running back Joel Coder will miss the game with a foot complaint.

Game Prediction: Nothing to really play for but could provide some spoils. Let’s hope for a positive end to the season and go for a Lions victory this weekend.

PENRITH, NSW – With the beginning of the new league season, the Penrith Lions have made a series of roster moves to begin building the roster for the upcoming league season.

Following completion of the season, QB Joe Chacon, RG Philip Conway, LG Iko-chan Kamonohashi and TE Marcus Keillor all announced their retirements from the game. The whole Lions organization thanks these players for his service and commitment to the organization and wishes him all the best in the next phase of their life.

Further, Backfield Coach Ryan Maly announced that he will also be stepping away from football and tendered his resignation from the coaching staff. He leaves the Lions organization with a record of 49-62-1, having joined the coaching staff at the very beginning. The whole Lions organization thanks Ryan for his service and commitment to the organization and wishes him all the best in the next phase of their life.

The Lions have waived RB Kevin Smith, WR Larry Larson, LT Alex Pettway, LG Nathan Peterson, LG Brian Comer, C Michael Nelson, LDE Robert Campbell, DT Eric Gordon, RDE Len Price, RDE Paul George, SLB Vincent Lopez, SLB Craig Brinson and WLB Carlos Broman.

The Lions thank all of these players for their commitment to the organization and wishes them the best moving forward in their careers.

Another season is now upon us, with the schedules all now released to the teams, and to the fans. We get ready for the 2029 season, and with a look in at what the Lions will face this season, hoping to improve on the 7-8-1 season, and hopefully make it back to the postseason for the first time in four seasons.

Do we have the chance to make it back to the postseason this year? Does the schedule make it easy or harder to get there?
Really depends, along with our normal divisional games, we also have to face the likes of Nottingham and the FB East, as well as the BC North division, facing off against Batman, twice this season, and the Ulaanbaatar Raptors, a team we will look to beat for only the second time in history. Besides that, we will face off against the third place teams from last seasons’ standings from both the FB North and FB South, that being High River and the newly relocated St Austell Brewers (formerly the Porth Emmett Auctioneers)

Our division is getting stronger, and tougher to win. How are we going to try and achieve it this season?
In some strange turn of fortune, we are facing five of our games in the opening seven weeks of the season, starting off with a triple-hit of Florence (away), North York (away) and Compton (home) in the opening three weeks of the season, then North York again in Week 5, followed by Florence at home in Week 7. That’s all that we have for the division, right up until Week 16, when we finish up the season and the division with an away day to Compton (along with Florence playing North York at the same time). How’s the division looking now?

Did we get any crazy away trips this season?
Not really, the worst (if you can call it that) is at the end of the season, when we play Minnetonka (formerly Hokianga), Harnosand and Compton to wrap up the season, other than that, it’s just two games in a row a couple of times. On the flip side, we managed to nab four home games in a row, with Nottingham, St Austell, Batman and Reykjavik all coming to town, where we will hope to build a better record than our 7-9 record at home over the last two seasons.

We haven’t seen the preseason schedules come out. Are they bad?
Sort of, we have to start it all up this season with a visit to the two-time defending champions, who have also just relocated to Genoa, and a small hope that it being preseason, we might get a good showing. We then head home to face off against Montevideo, with the end being a road trip to Reykjavik, and then back home to face off against Batman, so we not only managed to get two teams that we will face later on in the regular season, but we managed two teams from the BC North and the all-conquering BC South team.

What do you think this season will be for us?
Honestly speaking, we have seen some improvements, and we will welcome in a new group of rookies next week at the draft, and we still have some free agency time and then preseason to find the groove we want, to find the best possible depth chart and roster that will take us into the season, and I think that we are going to be able to see an improvement in some areas that really needed some improvements over the last couple of seasons. Expectations have to be around that 8-8 record again, and if we can achieve that, then I think it will be a good season, anything more and it’s a victory lap each time.

N.B. team logos will be added to the schedule when they are made available.

PENRITH, NSW – The Penrith Lions have made a trade with the Tokyo Revolver, sending defensive tackle John Jones to them, in exchange for fullback Jerry Surge.

Jones, who was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 draft joined the Lions in the 2027 off-season after spending the first four years of his career at the Edlington Anarchy, played 11 games for Penrith across his two seasons with the franchise, amassing 13 tackles, equalling his career-high 5 tackles in his first game for the organization against Paris. He also managed two sacks in the 2027 season, however, he faced tough opposition getting back into the active roster following his foot injury in Week 6 last season, and subsequently played only once following his return from injury.

Surge, selected in the fifth round of the 2028 draft by the Revolver, made 23 appearances across his two seasons in the league, racking up three tackles along with his 183 receiving yards at an average of 10.76 yards a reception, having played primarily as a wide receiver for the Revolver.

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Quotes attributed to General Manager Todd Carlton

“We have taken a methodical approach to making sure that we are in a solid position heading into this season. The back half of last season was a step in the right direction, and I think that we have seen what we can achieve on the field, and we wanted to make sure that we had the right personnel in place. One of those areas we wanted to improve on was the run game, and I think our drafting strategy has shown where we want to see improvements, and bringing in Jerry makes it clear what our steps are with the offense this season”

Quotes attributed to Head Coach Roy Rodriguez

“We like the look of Jerry and what improvements and positives that he can bring to the offense, and what positives he can bring to the team. We feel that he is a positive improvement and will be a great addition to the team, he brings with him a strong ethic of what we want to bring with the offense and it opens up a lot of choices and opportunities for us to make sure that our offense is stronger this season than it was last season”