Penrith got back to winning ways, defeating the winless North York Wildcats 27-15 in a contest that ebbed and flowed early on in the game, along with a late push by the Wildcats in the second half to get within two points, but it wasn’t enough as the Lions almost immediately took off and with a two play, 93-yard touchdown in only 17 seconds, the Lions ran away and took their fourth victory of the season, their best start to a season since 2022.

Once again, running back Jon Salas was paramount in the victory, rushing for nearly 100 yards and playing a crucial role with another 15 receiving yards and a touchdown to go with that, put him at 290 yards on the season, however, the concern now is with his arm, having taking a bad hit on it towards the end of the first half, and while he returned to the game in the second half, with 33 crucial yards, his performance was muted as much and he will now likely miss the next several weeks as he recovers from this. To go along with that, another runner injury being fullback Ursula Cruz, who is also likely to miss the next several weeks with a foot injury suffered in the first quarter and like Salas, Cruz returned but was very limited in performance standards, which seems to compound on the escape that the Lions essentially got away with on the weekend.

Talking to the press after the game, Head Coach Roy Rodriguez was adamant that he would not have sent them back in if he didn’t think that they were ready and medically fit to play in the game:-

“Both Jon and Ursula were looked over by the medical staff before they were cleared to return and play again, and I made sure that they were both ready and willing to go back out there. That shows the determination and commitment that all of these players have to this team, and to the uniform and to the fans, that they want to be on that field, to fight for every yard, fight for every play and come away with a victory. I would not have put them on the field even once if I didn’t think that they could still give 100% of their effort and commitment to the play, and to the team. We managed them both throughout the rest of the game, to make sure that they weren’t over-used and to give them as much time as possible to manage through. The medical staff would have done the same, and would have overruled me if they didn’t think they could play at their best”

The Lions now get to stay at home again, as they welcome the also winless 0-5 Bwindi Silverbacks to town, a Silverbacks side that has been struggling of late, with a lack of offense, scoring only 17 points in the last three games, and overall, the fifth least points total this season, while the Lions are up at the pointy end, with the third most points on offense, only behind the Mean Machine and Rumberos. To some commentators, there is quite a large gap between these two teams, and it could easily become one-sided if the Lions come to play as they have this season. With Bwindi quarterback Clifton Suarez struggling with 9 interceptions, and a 54.3% completion percentage (second worst in the league), and while the Lions are slightly a bit better, sitting at 61.4%, there could be a decent bump in this if the Lions offensive line can get on the ball and stop the Silverback defence from getting through, then this could be a long day for Bwindi. It won’t be a walk in the park for Penrith either, they will need to bring their “A” game or risk being left behind, which can happen with a Lions offense that may struggle if the defense pushes back, or a defense that could easily give up some long plays and be behind very quickly.

The Lions do have some major injury concerns, with defensive end Ernest Delcambre likely to miss the next two months with a massive neck injury late in the third quarter and did not return. Medical results came back, and they will take a very cautious approach with the 10-year veteran who faced the same sort of injury back in 2023 when he played for Los Angeles, and the concern is that this may result in his early retirement. The Lions have covered his absence with bringing in defensive end Reggie Watts. With both Cruz and Salas both out for the next couple of weeks, the Lions have had to bring back rookie running back Pierre Bush into the depth chart, following his injury back in preseason, while David Haskins was cleared from the concussion protocols, and both will have to take the step up to provide the running game that the Lions seem to be “used” to this season. Getting back to getting the runners into the endzone would also help. The other injury concerns with center Paul Keillor and offensive guard Fred Lawson, but both passed fitness tests and will be playing in the game in some form or fashion.

Game Prediction: This will be another victory for the Lions.

The Lions took another step towards a season that could be something exceptional, with another solid outing and another victory to take the Lions to 5-1 on the season, as they defeat the winless Bwindi Silverbacks 21-14. It was another solid showing from the receivers, this time being Jack Garvin, who snagged himself 115 yards and two touchdowns to go with that, not only his first for the season but also a career high. The run game again, dropped the ball and was down on previous weeks, with rookie running back David Haskins finally getting through a whole game without any concerns, racking up 55 yards on the ground. The defence also had a strong showing, sacking quarterback Clifton Suarez 8 times, three of them from recent recruit Reggie Watts, who came into the squad this week to cover for the long-term injury to Delcambre and seems to have made a great first impression.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach Roy Roriguez was pleased with the effort that the Lions put in but was aware that the hard yards are to come for the team:-

“Look, it’s a great day to get a result like that. We are humbled by the victory, and we know that it puts us in the position that we are in. We know that there is still a long way to go in this season and we have not only three strong divisional opponents to battle against, but there are 31 other teams who all still all in a fight for postseason berths, and the title. It’s not won or loss in one game, it’s a tough season and we have a long way to go still to achieve our goals, and another victory puts that goal a step closer. We have a lot more work to do, we know that our record is what it is, and that some may have questions about it, or may want to say that it’s not our true record, but it is our record right now and we will take it a further step and we will prepare for next week, and we will be ready for Florence, come what may”.

The Lions now have the task of their fifth divisional game in seven weeks, as they face off against the Florence Fools, hoping to make it another clean sweep this season of a second divisional opponent, and their fourth in a row against the Fools. Penrith will look to keep their positive momentum going, while Florence will look to keep their positive momentum going as well, looking for their fifth straight victory. They will look to take the upper hand on Penrith, who back in Week 1 made the Lions look like a young side, pushing quarterback John Decaro to only 198 yards, while Florence suffered with Hmmm Goodenough being sacked three times from a Penrith defence that has so far produced the third most sacks per game in the league (only behind Heliopolis and Stockholm), and with linebacker William Williams leading the tackle count across the team.

For Penrith to take this victory, they need to be at the level that they have been at for the last couple of weeks, a stronger offence that has so far scored 139 points, well over double the points they had scored by this point last season and look much stronger than where they have been in previous seasons and look to be a strong opponent to face. The issue now is that many commentators have said that their record is soft, and it’s only at 5-1 based on the soft schedule they have faced so far, having only faced three teams who made the postseason last season and four of the games were against divisional opponents and that they are soft on their record, without having faced tougher opponents. If Penrith lose, it won’t be because of a lack of trying, but because their offense failed to fire on all cylinders that they have been doing over the last few weeks. Florence have been on a roll over the last few weeks, having scored an average of 20.75 points per game so far, while Penrith are sitting slightly higher at 24.75 points per game. This has the markings to be a close game, or a blowout for either side.

Penrith can be buoyed by the fact that it looks likely that running back Leeroy Jenkins could likely miss the game, having suffered a leg injury that could rule him out for several weeks, but also if he does play, that they could play a small part in the game. When it comes to Jenkins, he seems to be the Achilles heel of the Lions, over the last five games against Penrith, he has rushed for 330 yards, but the positive has been that he has failed to find the endzone in those games, but a strong run game has not been what has kept Florence in their matchups. What has, has been has been the receiver corps, five touchdowns across the grouping, but the lack of support that Hmmm Goodenough has been getting, having been sacked 16 times so far this season, putting him fourth highest in the league, Penrith might be able to use that to their advantage, with the Lions seeing John Decaro only sacked 7 times, and with 12 touchdowns to his name, now doubling his efforts from the few games he played last season, the Lions do look to have the better side of the positive momentum.

Penrith will head into the game with a few injuries to look after, with running back Jon Salas still looking to miss the next couple of weeks with his arm injury, but his recovery has been positive, and he may make a comeback sooner than may be thought. The other concern is with offensive guard Fred Lawson who has complained about a foot sprain, but with the offensive line being a lot better than it has been, there seems to be adequate depth for them to work with. While Penrith opted against sending defensive end Ernest Delcambre to the injured reserve list, they are going to have to manage without him, but bringing in Reggie Watts, with his strong opening performance (or second opening performance), they will be in good hands while Ernest recovers. The only other concern of injury on the defensive side of the ball is with linebacker John Matthews, but he passed his fitness test and will feature against the Fools.

Game Prediction: This could go either way; this may be close. Still hoping for, and wanting, a Lions victory. Would leave us in great step for the rest of the season.

It wasn’t pretty but the Lions picked up their sixth victory of the season and their third straight victory of the season as they not only defeat the Florence Fools but pick up their fifth divisional victory with a low-scoring 5-0 scoreline, with not much else going on in the game bare a 30-yard field goal from Orlando Norris and a safety from one of the 3 sacks that Hmmm Goodenough suffered in the game. Penrith were finally able to also keep star running back Leeroy Jenkins to his third-lowest career rushing yards with a total of 5 (his lowest was a -5 yards against Harnosand in 2025) but despite the lack of offense, the defence was on point with linebacker Cookie Baker coming through with 11 tackles, Lions linebacker William Williams with 7 tackles and a sack, and cornerback Eugene Perry with 6 of his own. It didn’t help that the first drive for the Lions with a missed field goal, but overall, a low scoring 5-0 victory was all they got and all that was needed.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach Roy Rodriguez was not that pleased with the outcome, despite the victory and knew that there had to be some changes as they head into the second half of the season:-

“There are some issues we need to address and look into, we failed a lot on offense and there are issues on defence that we need to look at and start addressing, through our game plans and our practices. We have some issues and if we perform like that again, then we will lose, and we will lose big. We can’t keep just getting past our opponents without making some serious changes. The victory is fine, it gives us a fine boost and we can be pleased that once again, we will come away from the season with a positive divisional record and we could end up at least with a split in our conference record, so that is always a positive that we can look at, but we need to be more serious about how we manage our gameplan, and our roster. We have to be better than we have been over the last few weeks, and that work starts now”

It's going to be a tough week to get things on a better track, even with the Lions having scored on average 17 points over the last four weeks, as they head off on a two-game road trip, starting with a 5-2 Heliopolis Tomb Kings and who are coming into the game off the back of an amazing 21-3 victory over Stockholm, and will be looking to keep their undefeated home record in tact this season. The Tomb Kings, however, have struggled with their offence, only one touchdown in the last two games, and while quarterback Francis Fahey is equal-second when it comes to touchdowns this season with 10, the battle may be between the quarterbacks, with John Decaro now leading the league when it comes to touchdowns (with 12) and with passing yards. Both quarterbacks are towards the middle when it comes to pass percentage, with Fahey operating at just over 66% while Decaro is down at just over 60%, but despite this, they have both been leading an offense that are up there, with both teams only 20 points between each other (Lions with a slight advantage, 144 to 124) and even their defence, having only conceded 78 points (Lions) and 61 points (Tomb Kings).

For Heliopolis to win, and even for Penrith to win, they both need to get their offences in order and get them back on track to where they were earlier in the season, with a Lions offense that was firing on both sides of the ball, and restarting a run game that has severely lacked in performance from the last few weeks, and a Heliopolis offense that need the receivers to catch the ball more often in the endzone. They seem to have their defences on point over the last couple of weeks, Penrith having averaged 9.6 points per game over the three previous games, with Heliopolis averaging at 9.3 points per game, so this could be a very tough game for the offenses to get themselves going again and get things moving once more in the right direction.

Along with Penrith, Heliopolis have a slight injury concern on their defense, both linebackers are facing some time on the sidelines with some concerns, while Penrith look to be without defense end Paul George again for another month with a foot injury, however, on a positive side, defensive tackle Tony Threatt has passed his fitness test and will take his place in the depth chart to provide the assistance that he has been to the defence this season. The other major concern is with the offensive line, a line that has been much stronger this season than in previous seasons, with both Charles Decker and Gregory Bradshaw both facing some injury concerns, but both will play in the game.

Game Prediction: Sorry to say, the three-game win streak will end here (again). Heliopolis to win this one, but a win by a very close margin

Many thought it was possible, but it may have happened, however, the Lions fell to the Tomb Kings in another low-scoring affair, going down 7-3 to drop only their second game of the season and showing that maybe, just maybe, the Lions are not fully up to the level that their record suggests. Penrith were bested from the get-go, with quarterback John Decaro managing his career-lowest yards with only 94, while being sacked twice, they seemed to just let opposing quarterback Francis Fahey go at it, with 214 yards and a touchdown and despite also being sacked twice, it was Heliopolis that came out on top due to that touchdown, the Lions only getting off the mark early in the fourth quarter with a field goal, but by then, it was all but over.

After the loss, Head Coach Roy Rodriguez spoke to the media, and spoke about how the team are feeling and how they plan on approaching the second half of the season:-

“As with any loss, of course the guys aren’t in a good position, but they are professional, and they know that it’s just one game and we still have eight more games to show their performance and what they can achieve. We know that we have eight more games left in this season, at least, to show what we can really achieve. We have some weaknesses that we need to address and some strengths that we can work with and work on strengthening. We are working each and every week to make sure that our weaknesses aren’t exploited too much but also that we can take the opponents weaknesses can be used to our advantage. We have a good schedule coming up and already planning for our next game”

Penrith will not have much time to dwell on the loss as they head on for a second straight road game, as they face off against the 1-7 High River Rangers, a team that has gone from a divisional championship three seasons ago, to now subsequently fallen off the cliff and are now struggling to stay off the bottom of their division, and with an offense that has scored 62 points so far this season (an average of 7.75 ppg) compared to a Lions squad that while it has struggled the last two weeks, is still ranked as the eight-most points this season (with 147, an average of 18.37 ppg), and it really shows the large gap that these two teams have at the moment. The Lions should also be buoyed by the early return of running back Jon Salas, who has recovered from his injury and is looking like making a return to the field, which will help the Lions run game, a run game that has failed to find the endzone in the last six matches.

The Lions do need to get their offense firing once more, with an average of only 4 points over the last two games, whilst averaging 23.16 points in the first six games, there is some concerns that the offense is starting to fall back into old formats and old ways, and if they don’t get back to what they were in the opening six weeks, or even the opening month of the season, this could be the beginning of a very slippery slope back down the rankings and back down to the mediocre football that many Lions fans have been used to over the last couple of seasons. If the Lions, can, however, find their form and the form that has won them six games this season, the form that has seen the offense score on multiple fronts, seen both the run and pass game at a much better consistency than previously seen, then the Lions might just have something special on their hands, and it can all begin with this matchup this weekend.

Penrith, do, however, seem themselves facing a range of opponents that only have one winning record between them (that being Nottingham in Week 10), and two teams that featured in the postseason last season, many commentators are saying, with the shouts becoming louder and louder, that the Lions could avoid facing a tough enough opponent heading into what could be a postseason berth, leaving them vulnerable to the tougher opposition that will inevitably be there in the postseason. Even now, if the season were to end today, the Lions would be facing off against the Arrows, but with the likes of Paris, Forbidden City and even Heliopolis all breathing down their necks, it could be a tough second half of the season for the Lions to not only prove that their record is solid and that they are a team that is worthy of a postseason berth, maybe even a run at the conference title, but that they are indeed on the right path in this long rebuild, something that came out of the report several years ago.

In addition to welcoming back running back Jon Salas to the lineup, the Lions can be in high spirits that they are heading into the second half with a reasonable healthy roster, with the only serious concerns being with defensive ends Paul George, who is still out with that foot complaint, and looks likely to return in around a months’ time, and Ernest Delcambre who is recovering well from minor neck surgery and looks likely to return in four to six weeks’ time, right in time for the postseason, should the Lions secure a spot there. Penrith are also opting to give safety Jackson Real a rest this week, with fifth-round pick Christopher Cook making his return to the active lineup. The only major concern on the offense is with wide receiver Dane Blackburn who has again suffered another setback, this time with a turf toe injury that will keep him out at least for the next two to three weeks, this being his second injury this season and again the same toe, which is now becoming quite a concern for medical staff.

Game Prediction: Some say that the Lions could run the table here, but let’s take this one game at a time. Coming back from a loss, we think the Lions have the goods to bounce right back with a strong victory.

The Lions are back to their winning ways, as they take down the High River Rangers 23-7, as they got back to some positive ways when it comes to their offense, with running back Jon Salas rushing in for two touchdowns, the teams’ first rushing touchdowns since Week 2, and gives the Lions four rushing touchdowns on the season, the most they have had since 2025. The receiver corps also seemed to get back onto the right track, with Chidobe Baconthorpe ending with 116 yards, Jon Salas with 55 yards to take on to his 56 rushing yards, and Jack Garvin with 22 yards himself. The Rangers had no comeback after scoring the opening touchdown, even with intercepting quarterback John Decaro twice in a row, they were essentially blanked out, forced into eight punts, an interceptions and a fumble in their next ten drives, with nothing much else to get them back into the game once the Lions tacked on the final points of the game.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach Roy Rodriguez was pleased with the effort but knew that there was still room for improvement:-

“It’s always good to get a victory on the books, especially after a tough loss, and the guys are buoyed by the efforts that they have put in over the last week, coming back from that loss, and to get a convincing victory, it can really set us up for a good run of games, with some really positive momentum heading into a few more of these upcoming games, but we are acutely aware that we can’t rest on these laurels, we can’t rest just on the basis of one victory, we have to keep on improvement, finding our weaknesses and getting them in check, finding ways that we can change them into a strength, and building on our strengths this season. The planning doesn’t end, it will spur us on through the final seven games as we push for what we want to achieve this season”

Penrith now head back home to finish off their home stand for the year, and with the first game against the 5-4 Nottingham Arrows, one of only two teams the Lions will face in the rest of the season that currently have a winning record, with the Arrows coming into the game off the back of a 23-6 loss to Stockholm, and will be the team this week looking to bounce back from a loss to get their season back on track, with the Arrows in a much tighter divisional race between themselves and Heliopolis, separated by only a game, while the Lions not only hold a two-game lead over Compton and Florence, but hold tiebreakers over Florence and with the Week 16 game against Compton, some commentators are already coronating Penrith with the divisional title, but talking to the coaching staff and even the ownership group, the talk of division titles is not even a discussion, one person saying that the “divisional title is not what we are working towards”.

Despite the lack of points, Nottingham have not been the pushovers that the result against Stockholm would suggest, they have backed up their strong performances over a number of weeks, with victories over Bwindi, Harnosand and even Montevideo two weeks ago, even if it was by a single point. Nottingham have, however, to now manage with their star quarterback in Yuan Shao in some discomfort, having hurt his arm late in the game, resulting in Richard Covey coming into the game, and immediately giving up a safety in only his second drive of the season. Reports from the medical staff at Nottingham this week do indicate that Shao will play, but whether that is as QB1 or if he will play backup, that is another question. With only 6 touchdowns this season, and a single interception back in Week 1, that will be the question on most people’s lips until game time.

The Lions, however, do not have any quarterback issues, with John Decaro having a breakout season, with over 2,000 yards and 12 touchdowns, and while his last couple of weeks have been an issue, with an average of 213 yards over the last four games, the concern could be that his lack of starts, having only started now 15 games in his career, could be catching up to him. A strong performance from Decaro, combined with an offense that was seen at the beginning of the season, both from the receivers and from the run game, could be the spark that the Lions need to get their season moving onwards in the right direction. If it’s an offense that was seen against Heliopolis, or even Florence a few weeks ago, then the Arrows could easily run away with the game, even if Covey is named as QB1 for the game, to give Shao the chance to recover from him injury and have him in full health for the final push this season.

The one thing that the Lions do have, is their defence, led by a strong performance from linebacker William Williams and cornerbacks Eugene Perry and Barry Valle, combining for a total of 137 tackles. The defence has slammed opponents in the run game, giving up only on average 65 yards a game (good enough for fourth in the league), while the Arrows are letting in almost 130 yards a game on the ground. The reading doesn’t get any better on the passing game, with the Arrows sitting at almost 180 yards (equal 16th) while the Lions are letting in only 151.4 yards (sixth best). This could be a thriller of a game, especially if past performances between these two teams is anything to go by, but this could also be a performance of old from either team, and with both teams in an upwards trajectory this season, anything could happen here.

Penrith are also buoyed by the confidence that they have pushed through a small injury concern, and will head into the game with the same active roster that they had last week, with wide receiver Dane Blackburn looking likely to returning in the next couple of weeks from his injury, while fellow receiver Jack Barnes has passed his fitness test, but will still be limited in his action on the field, while the only other injury concern from the Rangers victory was with defensive tackle Aaron James, who hurt his arm in a play, but will also play this week as he gets through the final training session before the captain’s run tomorrow. The future is certainly looking bright for a franchise that has had some lean years, with a positive mentality flowing around the practice facility and the organisation as a whole these days.

Game Prediction: We think this is going to be one of those “cracker” games, you won’t want to miss out on watching this one. Go the Lions, let’s get that next victory!