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About six weeks ago we bought the North East academy license and folded an entire League 1 club into our player pathway under the guidance of the current 4 time NRL Champions. It'll take a few years to start bearing fruit, but trust the process...

Rugby league is one of the toughest, most exciting sports in the world, but sadly it’s still only seen as a northern game. The game will never reach its full potential unless it expands and thrives in new territories. Having a team in London is so important to aid with that. I agree with many of the comments that cast doubt on London, but done properly and based in a set up like Wimbledon, the club and game will grow in London. London gives rugby league a shop window in the biggest city in the UK. It’s where the sponsors are, where the media is, and where new fans from all walks of life can discover the sport. A capital city club helps rugby league feel like a truly national competition, not just a regional one. I mean we all love Sunday afternoons at Batley, Featherstone and Oldham. I grew up watching games at these venues in the 80s, but as a child I genuinely thought rugby league was a huge game like football and union. It’s only being an adult I see that it’s a small sport played in little towns across the north. There’s nothing wrong with these towns, but if league doesn’t start to think bigger, it will forever be an afterthought struggling to survive. With a more national appeal, the game will bring more blue chip companies investing in the game. Sure, Home Bargains may put money into our clubs, but should one of our biggest clubs like Saints not be attracting Emirates or other global brands? Traditionalists say London hasn’t worked, but they started in 1980. In that time they have produced many players that have become names in the game, they’ve been league runners up, and Challenge Cup runners up. That’s more than most teams in rugby league have done since 1980. It’s also about the future. A London team inspires kids across the South to pick up a ball, grows the player pool, and brings new talent into the game. Without London, rugby league risks staying small. With London, it can grow bigger, bolder, and stronger. Even now, there are nearly 1,500 registered community players in London and the South East across 25 community clubs. Not bad for a game that many still see as a game only played in the M62 corridor. If we want rugby league to thrive, we need a team in the capital. I’d also go as far as saying we should jump on the Welsh RFU disharmony and take one or two of the regional sides that they are likely to kick out next season. Certainly, Newport is a very working class area that would be ideal for our game.

4 local lads are currently playing in SL because they can poach York players, not to mention there's about 30 other lads in SL systems. Give it time and those lads will want to be at York but we need to be a SL side with a good academy, hopefully the quality we are signing will help enable that.

Depends how much you are trying to make current events fit your narrative.

I'll repeat it again: Hetherington is not a mug. He wouldn't be in London if there wasn't a strategy to make it work and **** loads happening behind the scenes. It still might not happen and it still might not work but nobody else in the British game has his relevant experience and credibility. Or the balls to give it a go.

They admitted us, and what else have they done since then? Look at the NRL and Melbourne storm as an example of how much support you should give an expansion side

And what have fev brought to the game With over a 100 years head start on London since then?

"had an association" I mean ...

Now has he used "inquiries" on purpose to imply there's been formal investigations, or is he just a bit dim and not aware he should be using "enquiries"?

I guess at least we have someone like him trying to arrange courtships though? Even doing that, when you have no need to, is more than most people have ever done - or are doing now - to help the Broncos survive and thrive. Fair play to the bloke I reckon.

Excellent podcast and Mike Ford comes across really well. Sounds like Oldham behind the scenes are being very level headed regarding this whole Super League / Championship malarky for 2026 and also for how the club will move forward over the coming years. I think the future looks bright whatever league we are in with the current regime in charge!!!

Clubs can set their own kick off times and days, can't they?

There is an interesting debutant in this game, namely 22-year-old referee, Matty Lynn. Apparently he hails from Yarm, on the banks of the River Tees and is a Newcastle Thunder academy product.

Exclusive: A Queensland Cup forward is after a move to the UK and is in talks with an English club. rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads understands Central Queensland Capras prop Ryan Jackson is interested in a switch to the UK. It is believed the front-rower has held talks with York. Edwards is only 21, and stands 194 centimetres tall and weighs in at 106 kilograms. In the Queensland Cup he has scored seven tries from 48 appearances. In 2025 for the Capras the forward has bagged three tries from 14 matches, and is averaging 78 running metres from 6.2 hit-ups per game. He has a 90.6 tackle efficiency. Jackson signed for the Dolphins in 2023 after starring for Wynnum Manly Seagulls in the Hastings Deering Colts and Auswide Bank Mal Meninga Cup competitions. He also represented Queensland at Under-19 level. The prop has been part of the Dolphins' development list but has yet to make an appearance in the NRL. He is off-contract at the end of this year. York have been particularly active in the transfer market as they look to go up into Super League. They have already signed Warrington prop Paul Vaughan and Wakefield forward Josh Griffin.

That the RFL have finally realised that having London in SL is something they should try and promote? I have no idea really, the current iteration shouldn't be close to SL, we will see how the next few months go

Neither of whom are there now. Branson sloped off a 1/4 of a century ago and Hughes was just rich but clueless.

Because the persons bankrolling it had no idea of how to Run a sports club. The academy punched above its weight in terms if producing London/SE born players. Sadly they had no clue at ownership level that you need to do the off field stuff right.

yOu DoN't LiKe NiGeL iTs NoT fAiR

He's pretty much our only asset

Who can forget when Tank Gordon was replaced by Gary Grienke.

Replacing Mike Eccles would be a huge mistake. He's a seriously talented coach.

Good to see the dear old thread alive and kicking again!

Darren Lockyer investing in London Broncos is great news for Super League. I hope he has a serious investor behind him with lots of patience, and if he brings in Jason Demetriou I hope Mike Eccles still stays in an influential role.

IMG points and financial viability. Those are the two things which are apparently being used to determine who will be in Super League next year. People seem to be desperate to take their loathing of Nigel Wood to create another set of criteria, just for Bradford Bulls. My personal view remains that the IMG process is absurd, they are crazy to try and go to 14 clubs next year and Nigel Wood probably shouldn't have been brought back to a leadership role. In a serious world we would give at least 12 months notice of league expansion and Odsal wouldn't be there regardless as it wouldn't meet minimum standards. But this is the world as it Is not the world as we wish it to be. And picking out one club for their issues, seemingly because the chosen bogeyman had an association with them, whilst waving away the problems of other applicants it isn't a serious way of doing this.

I've no issue with clubs doing rational things to optimise their scores, c'est la vie, but the brass neck of Gledhill to pretend that it's something his club are on the receiving end of as some sort of victim, rather than blatant exponents of really does take some beating...

Very funny that Mick is away 'making enquiries'/grassing to the RFL about other clubs' grading methods, considering his own club just revalued the lease on their ground for pure fantasy numbers so it looks better on the balance sheet...

One of the reasons I was more open to Radley choosing England is that it was more than possible that he may get picked for NSW. He was a young lad with plenty of time on his side and he certainly wasn't far off selection. It actually felt like it was something he really wanted to do rather than a decision just because he couldn't play SOO or for Australia. That is also why I am not keen on many other names that are touted about.

The fans took ownership and then immediately handed over control.

Well I may as well get the things rolling. Congratulations to London getting into the Super League.

My criticism is constructive. How do you manage to end up holding the biggest Broncos game of the season at the same time as the two biggest community games in the South? And nowhere have I said I don't hope it's all a success. Anyway, see you at both Chiswick in the morning and Wimbledon in the afternoon? For someone promoting negativity, I have rather a busy Saturday ahead of me supporting RL in the capital.

Patience is a virtue, I am sure the news, when it comes , will be worth waiting for. in Clint we trust.

Did they? I thought that was an "if there are enough strong clubs" and was not for 2026. This new expansion for next year is a new decision isnt it?

That isn’t The Broncos fault, they don’t decide who and when they are going to play it is the RFL. why is it that people who profess to be supporters of this game take every opportunity to stick the knife in and promote negativity rather than, on this occasion, say, wow, for once something positive is happening in London, let’s all hope it is a success and get behind it.

I don't want to count any any chickens but a win at Donny on Sunday will all but clinch the league leaders shield. Could Sunday see the biggest army of Knights take to the roads and rail since 1981? Gonna be a huge, gonna be massive, gonna be ‘noisy’. Don’t miss it for the world. Up the Super Knights!

Bennet`s opinions are hilarious. Be English - not picking you. Be Australian, Sell players drugs, bet on games using insider knowledge - Have a chat with him, keep picking him.

London need finance and proper backing to grow. For far too long they've just been kept ticking along on life support with corners cut. If any buyer or investor provides that then great.

The fact that they show zero respect or diplomacy towards Mike Eccles was an obvious giveaway.

He's been in charge of the show for six months now and has done nothing to remedy the situation or prevent it happening again. Maybe he should watch a BBC documentary about something unrelated to help him out.

Support base maybe, but actual average attendance is lower than every SL club. The eternal beacon of truth (The Game Caller) claims to be the only journalist with average attendance figures of those in the Championship and said Bulls were averaging 3389. The last reported SL average had Salford at 4055, Huddersfield at 4255 and Cas at 6689. Obviously, swap leagues with those clubs and you’d expect Bulls to pull more than Salford and Huddersfield currently do but apart from the derby against Leeds I have my doubts they’d post many huge crowds. I certainly don’t think they’d average more than Castleford.

I should add, Darren’s business partner is Grant Wechsel. He’s a wealthy guy in the mining industry.

With the new regime at the RFL, it wouldn't surprise me to see them finish in the IMG top 6!

If the bulls were 20th in the IMG rankings next season we would be seeing a 20 club Super League!

Jokes aside that's not a bad idea, could put the work in and make it a bit like Beamish, or Futureland as it's known in Featherstone.

On the plus side with time to kill, you could update your home groceries order, pay off your gas bill, take one of those personality quizzes...

I don't know what Radley's motivation was but he was only 24 when he committed to England and he has certainly been committed since then. Everyone has their own views on this but I think playing for a parent's nation is valid but I wouldn't select someone on grandparent heritage.

No, but they did do a really good session for John Peel once I have to say though the idea that rugby league in this country has an exceptionalism mindset, as opposed to rugby league in Australia, is psychological projection of the highest order

Three nothing games and a real battle of the roses for 4th spot and the play off spot that never was. 2 away wins on Saturday 2 home wins on Sunday