AFTER their Grand Final victory over Toulouse Olympique, London Broncos’ players spent last week in Barcelona on an extended stag party to celebrate the forthcoming marriage of their winger Iliess Macani, who scored two tries in their 18-14 victory at the Stade Ernest Wallon a week ago to send them into Super League.
But while his players were celebrating, Broncos’ coach Mike Eccles was taking the first steps in putting together a strategy for the Broncos’ first season in Super League since 2019, when they were relegated in their final game of the season after going down 19-10 in a winner-take-all clash against Wakefield Trinity, whose place they will take in Super League in 2024.
His first job is to decide which players he will retain, given that it will necessitate players who were part-time in 2023 signing part-time contracts for the 2024 season.
His second job is then to decide on players his club will need to recruit if they are to be competitive in Super League next season.
“We will be announcing quite soon which players we will be retaining,” Broncos coach Mike Eccles told League Express.
“Naturally we would like to retain as many as possible.
“It’s been a remarkable season for us, not least in terms of the make-up of our squad.
“For example, in our team that beat Toulouse, our front five forwards were all players from London and the south of England, which we feel proud about.
“And I think that Rugby League fans will enjoy coming to the Cherry Red Records Stadium when their teams visit us.”
The Broncos’ stadium is in Wimbledon. It has a capacity of 9,215 and the Broncos share it with their landlords Wimbledon AFC.
“We are confident that we can be a strong force in Super League and that we will add a lot to the competition,” added Eccles.
