THE RED ROOSTER

In response, It was not even a full trial game so you would use last years clobber. That said there did seem a lack of new gear in display at the club stall . Incidentally Alex Walker IIRC spent the whole training session jogging round the trailfinders pitch I did not see him get on the field so et's hope there nothing wrong here. Luke Yates was introduced to the gathering and mumbled a few things about it being cold up here in the Northern Hemisphere. Seems a polite and reserved type by Aussie standards . Your comment about pre-season backs the theory that promotion took the club by surprise, but on Danny Wards Hull practice game comment . It could be that the first grade are playing one of the Hull Clubs in either a practice game or full blown trial while the academy side goes to Doncaster. As is the case when first grade goes to Leigh and the academy side plays London Skolars. Danny also mentioned that perhaps a few props fancied kicking a conversion or two..😲

Not a lot to report The Training session involved three 25 minutes sessions, Tries only no conversions, First game 20-0 Broncos, 2nd Game 16-4 Broncos Third game 12-4 Broncos with The Broncos getting in a lot of defensive work in the last game possbily by design. All refereed by James Childs There are 4 London Broncos shirts now up in the Bar area, these might have been there last season or not, I cannot recall. The 1997, 2003, 2005 Blue Away kit and the 2009 kit David Hughes said all signings had been vetted in terms of their character by Danny Ward so that they fitted in with the Culture and Ethos of The London Broncos. From this you can interpret that the Henderson / Ward era is about copying the template of other successful sporting bodies, in that the team as a unit working together is more than the sum of its parts, rather than a group of individuals in a dysfunctional dressing room (Broncos 2012-13) Season Ticket sales are up by either 25 or 35% this year (it was indistict where I was) . I suspect this is a mixture of Super League and the end of the 8/8/8 Danny Ward mentioned London have another practice game in Hull before the two trial games against Doncaster and Leigh The new Stand is to be assembled on February 2nd, I say assembled because it is being put together Meccano style. When assembled its will hold 1100, and include, toilets a bar and a shop. Broncos Players have immaculate timing - Jay Pitts a baby Boy on Boxing Day, Jordan Abdul a baby boy on Christmas Day The Interview with Keiran Dixon (The London Phantom) was um.. Special... some photos 1 Looking towards what will be the new stand 2 The London phantom moves to threaten the line 3 As easy as.. 4. A knife through butter... 5 James Childs takes charge

Sales should be up this year. For me its all about a simple equation How many games can I attend / Cost of a season ticket v matchday prices I reckon I can make 10 out of the 14 Home games with only the Wigan game definately ruled out when I am on the other side of the world. Since I now know the whole London Broncos schedule I can plan this in advance instead of how many and when for August and September when I have other commitments.

Nothing about rugby league surprises me any more. Much as I am not a Catalans fan, I have to say that amid all the outrage on here nobody has actually considered the impact of this decision on the wider British Sporting Public. For a sport that purports to be a major player on the British sporting scene to deny access to what should be one of the marquee events on the calendar for three clubs, one of which is the cup holder, on the grounds of cost because the game cannot fill the national stadium should they get through to the final beggars belief . I cannot imagine this happening in any other major sport in this Country. Rugby League is already classed a second tier sport with Sport England. This decision together with the mooted desire to move the Cup Final away from he Capital which has being doing thr rounds for some time rather confirms that "second tier" impression. This is less an embarassment than a sad day for an entire sport. Ultimately if they can secure a broadcast partner, I think that Is the end game for the Super League Clubs - a league of their own - but that would be a different thread.

I am all in favour of speeding the game up - during the last Grand Final I was thinking the game was grinding to a total halt at times but these changes could have unintended consequences. For starters having two referees (and they will be referees as in the NRL) does not solve the basic problem of the time taken by the video refeee in determining Try or No Try . The saving grace being unlike Union sensibly not trying to adjudicate on forward pases in the build up. Not to mention the fact this will not apply at non-televised Super League matches as far as I am aware (unlike Union). So there will still be uneven decisions. As mentioned earlier in the thread, The Five minute warning seems more borrowed from the Two minute warning in the NFL rather than the NRL. Rather than speed the game up it could well slow down the closing stages. Now as I suspect speeding the game up will increase the number of blowout scores.This is not going to make for viewer retention on TV when the scores 40-6. The Golden point is not thought through , Firstly in the British tradition to celebrate the underdog getting a draw. Secondly, its not going to be too satisfying watching two sides try to set up for a drop goal. If you are going to ape the NFL (and that was what the NRL was doing when golden point was introduced) . Then why not have a fixed overtime period with the Golden TRY. with victory going to the side that scores a Try in overtime this leading to more attacking play and allowing the prospect of a draw for traditionalists like myself. These now Super League Rules mean for the first time rather than the two hemispheres playing to different rules the Northern hemisphere will now have different rules under the umbrella of the same governing body in the RFL. A sign that Super League is evolving into its becoming its own governing body perhaps...

Link https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12182277

Agree with the above

After 25 years service to sack your coach by voice mail is a disgrace - Paul White will not be flying soon for while there's club class and econonmy class there no category for no class😈

Spot on - It comes from Paul Gustard's time at Saracens - In seasons past defensive plays brought on the musical "stings" from Duck Soups the Big Bad Wolf and Warren Zevons Werewolves of London. Not sure what this has to do with The Toronto side whose musical "stings" surely should be something suitably mancunian such as songs from Oasis or The Smiths.....

Planning for next season is usually mid-way into the preceding season. I suspect that promotion surprised the club itself so Danny Ward had a "wants" list on the flight back from Toronto. The problem being no-ones coming over from the NRL these days unless you have seriously blotted your copybook down under which is why I have suggested going back to the Bronco old boys to see if there is a half or a utility player they know of languishing in reserve grade who would be a fit for a super league club. Somting akin to bringing over Thomas Leuluai, Feliti Mateo and Luke Dorn back in 05 You can debate the merits of an experienced half to walk the team around, but the Scott Hill and Craig Gower experiments did not work out. Better someone young and hungry for the opportunity to play first grade IMO. Broncos fans here's your Xmas wish t,o whatever idol you prey to, lets get at least ONE player like that recruited in 05.

I did get the feeling that the club was looking post-Sammut during the end of last season. Because you stand out at championship level is no gurantee that you will in the Super League. Now is the time to dust off the old Broncos contacts book and see if Messrs Rea, Dymock and Matterson can suggest a young Aussie half who would benefit from a season or two in the Capital . It;s a b***er that this has only been confirmed now though

Come on Swinton - You loyal fans who I have met at intertnationals are top drawer.

Loving the reverse psychology from posters on this thread. Warrington fans who claim they have no chance and Wiganers who are making this game out as Wigan v The civilized world. In truth this game will be decided by whoever can maintain the intensity level from last week. Northern Hemisphere teams find it difficult to back up and I have the feeling this will be more of a points fest than last week. Fans should note : Metrolink is free for match ticket holders https://tfgm.com/travel-updates/super-league-2018 Coming up for the game and getting the last train back to London for the NFL on Sunday so will arrive at Chez Rooster about 2.00am Sunday morning thanks to engineering work😢

At the risk of being banned for mentioning a competitor to LPL on this board. Gavin Willacy, who is a rugby league journalist of note, made this cryptic comment in the September edition of Forty-20 magazine ; My bold and italics " London has the potential; to be a league powerhouse but it will take a huge investment in facilities, staff development ,structures and players. There are seriously rich people interested in making that happen" So now we will see if Mr Willacy was well sourced or not....

Excellent result - London wanted it more and defended superbly with Alex Walker a deserved man of the match. Paul Rowley generous in defeat. This season whilst being a revelation, has I suspect also taken the club by surprise it's one thing aspiring to super league it's another actually getting there. The hard work starts now. As for those numpties already on this thread decrying a British Super League side outside the M62 my message is simple.