London Broncos have signed teenager Matt Davis on a full first-team contract for the 2016 season.
Davis, 18, made his first-team debut in the win over Sheffield Eagles and went on to play against Bradford Bulls the week after. Davis, a second rower, originally played at Leicester Storm before playing for the Midlands Regional Academy and being picked up by London Broncos Under-19s Academy.
Head coach Andrew Henderson said: “I’m really pleased for Matt. He came through the Academy system into our first-team environment a few weeks ago leading into Summer Bash. He impressed me that much he featured against Sheffield and Bradford.
“His attitude has been first class and he has shown me that he not only has the desire to be a first-team player but he wants to play for the Broncos.
“Once again it’s a credit to our staff working with our youth teams developing another player for the first team.”
Matt Davis said: “I’ve worked hard in training so I’m really pleased to get this opportunity. I’ve been in full training now for about two months, I’ve played two games for the club and I’ve worked really hard and I’d like to carry on doing that.
“I’m really enjoying it and I think I’ve taken my opportunity well because Hendo (head coach Andrew Henderson) has offered me a contract which shows how hard I’ve been working and how willing I am to progress. I’m enjoying being around the team in a professional environment day in, day out.”
Davis says his family has been a big help and he’s had to make sacrifices to get the opportunity at the Broncos but he still thinks the top four is possible for the club.
“I’ve been down here for a year with the Academy structure and my family, my girlfriend and her family have had to sacrifice a lot, as have I as I don’t get to see them as much. I’d like to say thank you to them and I hope I can do things for them in the future.
“We’ve got four games left of the regular season and personally I think we can make the top four if we keep working hard in training and keep putting the hard graft in. Ideally I want to be playing in those games but we’ve got some good players, but maybe a couple of games out of those left. In 2016 I’ll train hard in pre-season so I can give myself a chance to get a regular start in games.”