SALFORD 4 LONDON BRONCOS 62
LYNSEY COLEMAN, CorpAcq Stadium, Sunday

SALFORD delighted their supporters before the start of the game by announcing that they had signed the iconic Marc Sneyd for two years from 2027.

But it was London Broncos who produced a clinical attacking display that Sneyd would have been proud of, running in eleven tries, with a hat-trick for Luke Smith and four tries for Robert Mathias, while Jimmy Meadows enjoyed an impressive afternoon between the sticks, converting nine of the Broncos’ tries.

With Meadows shifting to fullback among a handful of changes, the Broncos made the perfect start. After a strong opening defensive set, Dean Hawkins pinned Salford deep with a kick before Luke Smith burst through after just four minutes in to score the opening try, with Meadows’ conversion giving them an early 6-0 lead.

The Broncos continued to dominate territory and possession, forcing Salford into errors and repeatedly turning the ball over with aggressive defence. A succession of penalties kept them camped inside the Salford half before Mathias crashed over after twelve minutes for a 10-0 advantage.

Salford briefly threatened after a Broncos error inside their own ten metres but their opportunity disappeared with a handling mistake of their own. That proved costly as Hawkins produced a perfectly weighted kick towards the touchline, allowing Smith to gather and finish for his second try of the afternoon after 17 minutes.

The pressure continued to mount and, just four minutes later, Finley Glare spotted space, burst through the defensive line and crossed for another Broncos score.

Salford refused to go away, however, and a spirited spell before half-time saw them enjoy their best attacking period, forcing repeat sets and testing the Broncos line. Meadows produced an outstanding try-saving tackle around the half-hour mark, while Wallis was assured under the high ball throughout.

After weathering the pressure, the Broncos struck once more before the break as Mathias grabbed his second try in the 38th minute, with Meadows goal giving London a commanding 28-0 half-time advantage.

The second half could hardly have started better for London.

Just 20 seconds after the restart, Marcus Stock powered over to score and four minutes later, Glare collected his second try of the afternoon to push the lead to 40 points.

With the game opening up, the Broncos’ fitness and pace began to overwhelm their opponents and Mathias completed his hat-trick after 53 minutes before Smith followed suit three minutes later, both converted by Meadows to make it 52-0.

Jack Croft, on his return from injury, then added another Broncos try on 59 minutes as Salford’s defensive resistance began to fade against the relentless intensity of the full-time Championship side.

To their credit, Salford continued to battle and were rewarded with a late consolation when Callum Green crossed in the 69th minute, although the conversion was missed by Kieran Dixon.

Their task became even tougher shortly afterwards when Cameron Bate was forced from the field, leaving them to finish the final stages with twelve players.

The Broncos remained focused until the final whistle.

After Neil Tchamambe was denied in the corner, Mathias produced a clever dummy before keeping hold of the ball himself to score his fourth try two minutes from time to complete a convincing 62-4 victory.

The result marks another step towards a top spot finish for the Broncos with 18 wins from 18, whilst Salford fall to twelfth place in the table.

GAMESTAR: Luke Smith produced his standout performance of the season, crossing for a clinical hat-trick while excelling in both attack and defence to relentlessly trouble Salford throughout the afternoon.

GAMEBREAKER: Marcus Stock made an instant impact after the restart, crashing over just 20 seconds into the second half to spark a relentless spell that extinguished any hopes of a Salford comeback.

MATCHFACTS

SALFORD
1 Kieran Dixon
39 Callum Green
12 Oli Garmston
20 Joe Hartley
5 Jack Holmes
7 Toby Hughes
40 Owain Abel
29 Cameron Bate
9 Brad Dwyer
37 Jack Bibby
33 Cole Oakley
26 Reece Stanton
42 Shaun Costello
Subs (all used)
32 Joe Baldwin
30 Alfie Leake
36 Danny Lynch
13 Charlie Glover

Tries: Green (69)
Goals: Dixon 0/1

BRONCOS
18 James Meadows
26 Neil Tchamambe
3 Robert Mathias
20 Brandon Webster-Mansfield
2 Elliot Wallis
23 Gairo Voro
7 Dean Hawkins
8 Reagan Campbell-Gillard
14 Finley Glare
10 Emarly Bitungane
11 Luke Smith
19 Ben Hursey-Hord
13 Siliva Havili
Subs (all used)
6 Connor O’Beirne
12 Jack Croft
17 Marcus Stock
24 Lewis Bienek

Tries: Smith (4, 17, 56), Mathias (12, 38, 53, 78), Glare (21, 45), Stock (41), Croft (59)
Goals: Meadows 9/11

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-10, 0-16, 0-22, 0-28; 0-34, 0-40, 0-46, 0-52, 0-56, 4-56, 4-62

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Salford: Owain Abel; Broncos: Luke Smith

Penalty count: 13-13
Half-time: 0-28
Referee: Ryan Cox