Fri 23rd Feb: SL: London Broncos v Catalans Dragons KO 8pm (Sky/SuperLeague+)

[JimBronco]

Broncos showing great heart and determination.

[Worzel]

1 hour ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Arrived around 30 mins ago must say the club have done a brilliant job.

Nice buffet in the gold lounge good beers excellent corporate signage all hospitality open and sold.

All the LED sold as was Rovers last night and also Wolves tonight with some great blue chip brands

WELL DONE BRONCOS it's a pleasure to have them back:)

Video up on my you tube channel tomorrow 

 

Paul

Are they offering a proper meal option anywhere this year Paul, or is a buffet in the Gold lounge the only hospitality option? Will go to a few games for sure 

[Just Browny]

What's going on with the clock here? Still playing two minutes after the clock ticked to 40 - surely the on-screen clock is the match clock?

[gingerjon]

Cats get away with an illegal shoulder charge ...

[Curly perm]

Fair play to London, they stuck with it. They’ll be happy there’s a video ref at every game!  

[THE RED ROOSTER]

This game could blow out badly in the last 20 minutes as the Broncos have done a ton of defending in the first half.

There is no pace and guile in the attack so while they need a playmaker. Three are some immediate changes that could ge made.

Let's start  by playing some of the reserve graders from the HAC. Put Morgan Jackson at fullback in the absence of Alex Walker putting Oli Leyland back to his normal position. Put Gideon Boafo on the wing as he is better than the current options and play Jenson Monk in the forwards.

OK this might make no difference to the outcome but the side would have.more pace and a full back who is comfortable under the high ball.

And if Sniffer Rea us there get your contacts book out Tony and rustle up a player or two from the ex-Bronco network down under.

[St Reatham]

Even though London are being outclassed, they are putting in a gutsy performance and have had a few unlucky calls. The stadium is compact but modern and there’s a good atmosphere. The pitch is in great shape and not like a quagmire like most of the other pitches I’ve seen thus far.

[ATLANTISMAN]

46 minutes ago, Worzel said:

Are they offering a proper meal option anywhere this year Paul, or is a buffet in the Gold lounge the only hospitality option? Will go to a few games for sure 

Both food it seems in boxes 

[ATLANTISMAN]

Would say at least 4500

[Coggo]

Watching live it looks a bit like FT vs PT. Severe lack of beef in the Broncos.

[Coggo]

5 minutes ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Would say at least 4500

Can’t be. The three small stands are around 5k combined….

[GeordieSaint]

Loads of heart from London.

[berkshirebronco]

Just announced 5102 

[Henson Park Old Firm]

Was it just me or did the first half go over the 40th minute?

[Futtocks]

Broncos 0:34 Dragons at the end. Not the hammering most expected, but still a scoreless performance from the hosts.

[Futtocks]

1 minute ago, Henson Park Old Firm said:

Was it just me or did the first half go over the 40th minute?

Is this like the on-screen clock in the streamed BBC Cup rounds, where it is just a guide and isn't synchronised to take stoppages into account?

[THE RED ROOSTER]

Plough Lane has a capacity of 9,125. I will leave it there.

Regardless of relegation, the 2019 side could score points so London by and large were in the majority of games.This line up by contrast is completely outclassed perspiration not matched by inspiration

This could damage Rugby league as a sport in the South for if it was AFC Wimbledon handing out free tickets to the curious only only for them to see the dons losing 4-0 or 5-0 every week How many would come back ?

As the mods have threatened to excommunicate posters commenting on the refereeing I was leave you to judge what my thoughts are

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

1 hour ago, THE RED ROOSTER said:

Plough Lane has a capacity of 9,125. I will leave it there.

Regardless of relegation, the 2019 side could score points so London by and large were in the majority of games.This line up by contrast is completely outclassed perspiration not matched by inspiration

This could damage Rugby league as a sport in the South 

I said this before the start of the season

Hope I'm wrong but this could be bad enough to end Broncos full stop by seasons end 

[MZH]

I hesitate to say this since we play them next week and have our own woes, but this London team could end up going down alongside 2003 Halifax as the worst team in SL history. I haven't seen this game yet, I might skim it later on, but the squad wouldn't stand out in the championship. They could be on the end of some fearful beatings as the season goes on, the weather improves, and injuries bite.

[ATLANTISMAN]

Sad to say i agree men against boys tonight Broncos are at best a mid table championship side.

 

 

[Click]

Got back from the game not too long ago. My first actual visit to Plough Lane, but it was a decent evening, even with remaining scoreless.

The ground is quite nice, they had lots of different food options, etc. The attendance felt pretty healthy, lots of kids were around that probably enjoyed it (even if we didn't score/win)

I said before the season that this is just a championship squad, and even that, some of the players are mid-championship quality rather than even top Championship quality. It's going to be a long season, hopefully they can start getting some attacking drills done, we improved as the season went on last year (which may have been mainly down to Lovegrove), so we live in hope!

Overall I enjoyed the evening, I was expecting us to lose by lots but we put up a fight. You could see how much bigger and quicker the Catalans players were compared to us from the very beginning. 

Even bought a new Broncos hoodie, and Lovell's away kit from last season.

[Dave T]

Haven't watch it and the scoreline isn't enticing me to do so, but did we have any major ref controversy here? 

[gingerjon]

7 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Haven't watch it and the scoreline isn't enticing me to do so, but did we have any major ref controversy here? 

I didn’t notice any but then I was far too distracted by Dunkerque v Ivry on the laptop.

The only controversy seems to be whether you believe the crowd number.

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

Haven't watch it and the scoreline isn't enticing me to do so, but did we have any major ref controversy here? 

No. There were a few video ref calls on possible Catalans tries, one of which never looked a try (I think the ref was unsighted for a clear knock on) and a couple of 50-50 grounding calls which were denied to Catalans, but the ref was irrelevant to the outcome.

As others have said, it was pretty much men against boys and it was interesting that Catalans barely showed any shape in attacking movements at any time, not needing to as they were able to march up the field through their physical dominance.

London tried really hard and continue to give the impression that Eccles is a good coach at getting the most out of his players, but as others have said, they're really a top 6-ish Championship team, as you'd expect given they finished 18 points adrift of the top last year before their play-off purple patch. 

[ATLANTISMAN]

2 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

No. There were a few video ref calls on possible Catalans tries, one of which never looked a try (I think the ref was unsighted for a clear knock on) and a couple of 50-50 grounding calls which were denied to Catalans, but the ref was irrelevant to the outcome.

As others have said, it was pretty much men against boys and it was interesting that Catalans barely showed any shape in attacking movements at any time, not needing to as they were able to march up the field through their physical dominance.

London tried really hard and continue to give the impression that Eccles is a good coach at getting the most out of his players, but as others have said, they're really a top 6-ish Championship team, as you'd expect given they finished 18 points adrift of the top last year before their play-off purple patch.

Pretty much spot on its going to be a long season.

I would be looking to beef up the pack with some kiwis from the Auckland comp maybe kumals and there are a few French players out there worth a punt.

They need at least 8 more signings to give it a crack.

On the sponsorship front though having London back is brilliant for the game. 

Paul