MLR 2025 Season Preview: Key Storylines, Revamped Squads, and the Free Jacks’ Historic Three-Peat Bid
Now that we have a pretty good idea about how each team will look come the beginning of the season on February 15th, 2025, let’s have ourselves a look ahead! We might as well, seeing as there are so many good talking points and storylines heading into this season. Topics like crazy schedules, revamped squads and even a historic preseason match! Oh, I guess some team might be looking for another championship for a certain number in a row, too.
Before I get into all of my big talking points, I would be remiss to not mention the demise of the Dallas Jackals. This would definitely be a big talking point going into the season, but since it has been covered pretty thoroughly by Rick, Scott and Rob I won’t go into it. R.I.P. Dallas Jackals.
First major talking point we should discuss is what happened with the schedule. Everyone was thrilled to see the new schedule, until they actually started looking at the dates that is. Excitement turned into confusion, and questions about potential errors made. Matches were listed to be played on almost every day of the week, but when the Major League Rugby Players Association (MLRPA) came out with a statement against the schedule stating concerns of player safety, we knew there were no errors. The MLR and the MLRPA worked out an arrangement where the schedule can stay the same, and the concerns over player safety were taken care of.
With everyone now happy(ish), we can continue with our gleeful anticipation of the new season. The arrival of midweek matches brings a whole new challenge for teams because all of them will have to play three matches in either a twelve, eleven or nine day time span. It’s going to be very interesting how each team goes about handling this new challenge, and to see who does it the best.
Without getting too much into the individual signings (Scott Ferrara has that covered), we can move into our next big topic. Roster shakeups are nothing out of the norm, but they are always good talking points heading into a new season! The first one that hit us over the head like a purse full of bricks was Utah announcing the departure of 17 of their starters! They have definitely recruited well to replace said starters, but that’s no guarantee they will gel together and be successful. This could very well just be a rebuild year for them.
The other three teams that have made some serious changes are NOLA Gold, Rugby Football Club Los Angeles (RFCLA) and Anthem Rugby Carolina (Anthem). The NOLA Gold picked up a lot of talent from Utah and the Dallas dispersal draft. Plus some big names from overseas which should make them quite competitive in the Eastern conference. Even though the NOLA Gold made a lot of changes, they don’t compare to what the other two have done. Anthem took the entire offseason and almost all of the preseason to make ANY player announcements, but we finally now know who all they got. The team is still made up of young(er) American talent, but this time around said talent comes with plenty of MLR and even international experience. Anthem won’t be an easy out this season, and it’s not a question of if they get a win but rather how many wins will they get?
The third and final team I’m going to talk about is probably the most interesting. RFCLA has brought in a new coaching staff, and boy did they add their own distinctive imprint on the team’s demographics. A mix of well known and up and coming Australian talent throughout the lineup. Now, one could point at my Utah example and apply the same logic here. Just because they bring in good signings doesn’t mean they will become a powerhouse. Unlike Utah, though, RFCLA just played a historic first ever preseason match/scrimmage against the Super Rugby Pacific side, Fijian Drua.
This was a Fijian Drua side that boasted over 20 Fijian internationals on an extended roster, so a 33-26 loss in Fiji is not too shabby. Especially since a lot of people were calling for a more lopsided result in favor of the home side. This is a good indicator that RFCLA’s lineup will mesh together well and be a real force in the Western Conference this season.
I believe that’s it. Those are all the major talking points leading into the season. Bye. What’s that? If I don’t mention the possibility of the New England Free Jacks making league history Woodgy will pay me a visit in the middle of the night? Fine, to avoid the midnight calling from the NE Free Jacks’ Bigfoot-esque mascot let’s talk about their potential three-peat.
Not since the 2020 preseason have MLR fans been speculating about a team winning a championship for the third time in a row. Back then it was the Seattle Seawolves. This time it’s the NE Free Jacks, and unfortunately for everyone else they might just do it. They kept a strong amount of their core squad, plus added more depth. The only possible obstacles are every other team in their conference also getting stronger, and a coaching change, kind of. They have brought back Ryan Martin who coached the side back in 2021 and the Freejacks went 10-6 that season. He is not returning to the same squad nor league, though. While Martin learned a lot coaching in Super Rugby Pacific, we’ll just have to wait and see if it translates over smoothly.
Feeling excited yet? You should be! So many topics to discuss, and argue over! So many storylines to watch unfold! How will teams handle the short turnarounds? Which teams made the best offseason acquisitions? Does that preseason result have any bearing on RFCLA’s 2025 campaign? Will the NE Free Jacks become the first MLR side to three-peat? February 15th not only brings the start of the season, but also the first step in answering those questions.
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