Sun 31st Mar: SL: London Broncos v Huddersfield Giants KO 15:00 (Sky/SuperLeague+)

[Hopie]

The theory of all games on TV and therefore having a video ref was good...

[Wolfey Rovers]

Referees can easily rely on VR this season because all games on TV. Slows games down immensely as 90% tries go up. I guess decisions don't have to be made there and then anymore 

[Archie Gordon]

This must be hard viewing for London fans. They have a set of game players but they are far better suited to the Champ.

[Padge]

2 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

This must be hard viewing for London fans. They have a set of game players but they are far better suited to the Champ.

You could replace London with Hull or Castleford in that statement.

Edited March 31 by Padge

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

12 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

This must be hard viewing for London fans.

Not really Archie as most of us aren't surprised 

This season is going exactly as I thought it would 

I just wish we had a competitive fixture against say York next week 

It's just a really predictably stupid situation 

If we knew we weren't going to significantly strengthen we should have just let Tolouse take the spot ....we still should in my view 

 

[JohnM]

It's hard for London. When I worked in Guildford in the 1990s I went to quite a few games at the Stoop. Enjoyed the event, the atmosphere and reasonable crowds. I'd hoped that they could build on that. Under Branson ownership, that ought to have been possible. Yes, it must cost twice as much to run a team in London than in Huddersfield: housing costs especially and yes, it must cost twice as much to be a fan in London compared with being a fan in Huddersfield. I'd like to think that there is going to be some stability now, with coach, players and what seems to be a decent 9,000 capacity ground. What's missing? Leadership? Who IS David Hughes? To my mind, if Les Cats can do it, so could London. It ought to be an attractive place for players to go 

Edited March 31 by JohnM

[Agbrigg]

There has been a team in the capital in one guise or another for over forty years. There has been the odd high light or two in that time but somehow it still feels the game is just hanging on down there. It's such a pity and I would hate for it to wither away or just hang on in the lower leagues

[ATLANTISMAN]

22 minutes ago, JohnM said:

It's hard for London. When I worked in Guildford in the 1990s I went to quite a few games at the Stoop. Enjoyed the event, the atmosphere and reasonable crowds. I'd hoped that they could build on that. Under Branson ownership, that ought to have been possible. Yes, it must cost twice as much to run a team in London than in Huddersfield: housing costs especially and yes, it must cost twice as much to be a fan in London compared with being a fan in Huddersfield. I'd like to think that there is going to be some stability now, with coach, players and what seems to be a decent 9,000 capacity ground. What's missing? Leadership? Who IS David Hughes? To my mind, if Les Cats can do it, so could London. It ought to be an attractive place for players to go 

London isn't a provincial town like Perpignan that's the difference.

Everyone in the game knows that some clubs are pushing IMG to make it an M62 sport and push out the Dragons Toulouse etc.

Only savior will be the NRL starting a new comp and draining the swamp.

Edited March 31 by ATLANTISMAN

[DavidM]

London did unbelievably well to get to Super League . The year before , we won one game in the Championship - London who were just as bad . Incredible . It’s predictably tough but the magnitude  of the achievement of just getting there should always be remembered 

[gingerjon]

54 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

This must be hard viewing for London fans. 

Predictable viewing.

London have scored, I think, 64 points in 7 games this season. 42 of those came in 2 games. So 22 points in five games.

You can't win games like that, you can't even keep games interesting like that.

[Dunbar]

London played better than I expected them to today.

They lack top level quality (for obvious reasons) but they are well organised and hard working.

[JohnM]

31 minutes ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

London isn't a provincial town like Perpignan that's the difference.

Everyone in the game knows that some clubs are pushing IMG to make it an M62 sport and push out the Dragons Toulouse etc.

Only savior will be the NRL starting a new comp and draining the swamp.

London isn't a provincial town like Perpignan that's the difference.

Well, yes, that's ONE difference. there are others, though. Subjective, I know but being outside London, it's hard to feel their presence. They need somehow to up their game OFF the pitch by ten times at the very minimum. Perhaps, due respect to Hughes for what he has done, it needs someone with even more money, even more love of the game, even more clout and ambition.

[daz39]

Another really sluggish effort from us, yes 2 competition points and we looked fairly comfortable getting up the field but as with the last 2 or 3 years we look pretty clueless in finishing sets off and scoring points, how many times did we just simply chuck the ball anywhere on the 4th or 5th tackle hoping for something to come off or try and crash over the line using stationary forwards?

Last week we were chucking the ball around and out wide and scoring for fun but we resorted back to one man drives and close our eyes and hope on the last plays again, we need to be much, much better and clinical if we want to make the play-offs.

Maybe the plan was simply just to win and get out of there, if it was job done but i can't help thinking we've missed a big chance to have a bigger plus number on our points difference and a bit more confidence going into a month of tough away games.

Credit to London too who started really well, Oli Leyland looks a decent little player who definitely got them on the front foot, they never stopped trying and that is what could possibly see them pip Hull FC or Cas at this stage.

Glad to see Deakin get some game time too, can only do his confidence good to be finally involved.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

1 hour ago, Padge said:

You could replace London with Hull or Castleford in that statement.

The difference is that Hull and Castle will won some games this year

Broncos will lose every game this year....probably by a bit margin until teams start sending their second squads

[daz39]

6 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

The difference is that Hull and Castle will won some games this year

Broncos will lose every game this year....probably by a bit margin until teams start sending their second squads

Don't lose heart, i reckon your team have got more effort and commitment in them than either Cas or Hull, you gave us a much harder test that either of those came remotely close to.

[glossop saint]

1 hour ago, JohnM said:

London isn't a provincial town like Perpignan that's the difference.

Well, yes, that's ONE difference. there are others, though. Subjective, I know but being outside London, it's hard to feel their presence. They need somehow to up their game OFF the pitch by ten times at the very minimum. Perhaps, due respect to Hughes for what he has done, it needs someone with even more money, even more love of the game, even more clout and ambition.

I'll probably get some stick for this but I think it would've been good for the game for the relatively new Wigan investor (Danson?) or Wakey owner to have maybe given London a go. Obviously it's their money and no qualms with them putting it where they want but it would been nice for London to have a committed super rich owner who can spend some upfront cash and sustain it for a period of time. 

[Click]

28 minutes ago, glossop saint said:

I'll probably get some stick for this but I think it would've been good for the game for the relatively new Wigan investor (Danson?) or Wakey owner to have maybe given London a go. Obviously it's their money and no qualms with them putting it where they want but it would been nice for London to have a committed super rich owner who can spend some upfront cash and sustain it for a period of time. 

Oh how different London RL may be if Leneghan had been able to stay invested in London when he bought Wigan.

[JohnM]

Understand the points in the previous two posts but I think it also needs someone who believes fervently in the Broncos mission.

[sentoffagain2]

1 hour ago, JohnM said:

Understand the points in the previous two posts but I think it also needs someone who believes fervently in the Broncos mission.

   Branson couldn't see profit in it and he had the cash

[gazza77]

1 minute ago, sentoffagain2 said:

   Branson couldn't see profit in it and he had the cash

Not saying there aren't any, but I'm struggling to think of an example where profit is made in owning a sporting club as an individual. Certainly not in RL, you need a benefactor, not an investor looking for a return. That's true for all clubs, not just London.

[glossop saint]

6 hours ago, JohnM said:

Understand the points in the previous two posts but I think it also needs someone who believes fervently in the Broncos mission.

Believing fervently in the Broncos mission probably means that they are a fan. That then becomes a question of numbers. It is a lot harder to find a fan with millions amongst a few thousand then a few tens of thousands. I don't know but I imagine that there enough fervent believers to give it a good go, they just don't have the resources.

[JohnM]

True, GS. It'd have to be someone who isn't taken in by the "horny handed son of toil" northerner stereotype ( no longer true of course but a badge still worn with pride at times), nor the stereotype of the elite and effete southerner.  So all that is needed is a rich, capable, powerful patron who loves the game and who is rooted in London.

Hmmmm....might be easier to eradicate malaria.....

Edited April 1 by JohnM

[Ant]

London played some entertaining stuff, and their defence was full of energy at times - which I think very much disrupted the Giants attack.

 

Superleague is a game of millimetres and if you're no on it, you can get blown away, London are damn close to being a competitive team, and I hope they find a benefactor, and time to build again. 

Good to see lots of none northern/Aussie players in the London roster too.

 

Downside is the Sky comments being unable to tell certain players apart on a number of occasion...really not a good look.

[meast]

I have not long got home from a great weekend, starting off by my local non league football team winning their league title with a 5-0 away from home, straight down to London for 4 for us, a night out in the west end on Saturday and then down to Wimbledon on Sunday, we joined many of the Giants fans in the corner pin, who did a very good trade in the 2 hours before the game, mainly from the away fans.

Onto the game, it wasn't the best, as others have said, London tried hard and caused us a few problems, we also created a lot of our own problems by overplaying and not doing the basics correctly all the time.

But we got the win which is pleasing, we played well at times too, some good individual performances and a good atmosphere in the ground, 2 of my friends from Kent were amongst the Giants contingent and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

After the game, a few rounds of drinks back in Wimbledon and then a night out in and around Camden.

2 games, 2 wins for my teams a good weekend and now a week off work  

[meast]

Regarding London, I've always advocated that RL needs a thriving club in London, I've enjoyed my visits to the previous homes of the Broncos and always had a good time and found the London fans a bit like ours, not big in numbers but very passionate,  but this time felt different, it felt like there wasn't really much interest anymore which felt sad.

Before the game, I saw 3 London fans, 2 in the pub and one who got off our train at Earlsfield, even around the ground before and after the game, I didn't see any home fans, there was a bit of enthusiasm from the fans in the ground but they were few and far between.

It felt like a club that are doing the bare minimum to survive rather than try and improve their lot.

The ironic thing was that after the game in Wimbledon and up in Camden, people recognised our team and sport and asked who we had been playing etc and were surprised when we told them London as they didn't even know there was a RL team in London.

Another thing, Giants fans paid £20 for their tickets but some of the bars around Wimbledon were offering free tickets from behind the bar, I wonder how many people took the offer up?

This is about the extent of London's support, although there was plenty of Giants fans in the East stand too, and a few people in the hospitality areas of the main stand, there doesn't look to much more than 500 London fans which is extremely sad given how they beat the odds to get to SL again.