London Broncos (Merged Threads)

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

Nope

4 minutes ago, langpark said:

Are they about to pull a Cornwall perhaps?

4 minutes ago, langpark said:

Are they about to pull a Cornwall perhaps?

30 minutes ago, Angelus said:

No squad announced yet for Friday's game.

And still no word from Eccles for a while.

Hope there's nothing going on

 

[preid]

8 minutes ago, langpark said:

Are they about to pull a Cornwall perhaps?

I doubt it as Hughes cleared all debts. One odd thing that stood out watching the video of the Batley match was how so many players looked knackered near the end. Just before they took the lead, near their own line there were 3 if not 4 with their hands on their knees and very slow to move and it wasn't that hot. Also, there seemed to be a gap between the better players and others e.g. the right wing's defending for Batley's winning try. I guess all will be revealed soon but they have looked like a bottom four side recently.

Edited April 16 by preid

[langpark]

3 minutes ago, preid said:

I doubt it as Hughes cleared all debts. 

Even so, I just cannot fathom how they are still keeping the light on.  Playing at an expensive ground, in front of 300 fans.  Traveling across the country, more than any other team in the league.  Paying London prices for everything.  Just seems like they are on borrowed time and they could go bust at any minute.

[preid]

15 minutes ago, langpark said:

Even so, I just cannot fathom how they are still keeping the light on.  Playing at an expensive ground, in front of 300 fans.  Traveling across the country, more than any other team in the league.  Paying London prices for everything.  Just seems like they are on borrowed time and they could go bust at any minute.

£150k parachute money, some Brewdog sponsorship. Don't they have some possession rights from previous DH loan to Wimbledon ? Gary Hetherington's involvement would indicate something will happen and soon but you are right in that money will run out at some point otherwise plus, on current form, they risk relegation.

Edited April 16 by preid

[Gooleboy]

13 minutes ago, langpark said:

Even so, I just cannot fathom how they are still keeping the light on.  Playing at an expensive ground, in front of 300 fans.  Traveling across the country, more than any other team in the league.  Paying London prices for everything.  Just seems like they are on borrowed time and they could go bust at any minute.

Hopefully not, some on here will be on a meltdown as they wait for the messiah GH to turn it all round, then full steam ahead back to the NRL inspired SL.

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

All will be well.

[Ethereal]

1 hour ago, Pen-Y-Bont Crusader said:

All will be well.

So reading between the lines. Insiders are aware of some cashed up party behind the scenes who is happy footing the bills for the foreseeable.

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

 No. Just that the club budgeted for the whole of this season and nothing I’ve seen or heard contradicts that. 

The socials are still posting including the Women’s side news and team news I’m sure will be out today.

Edited April 17 by Pen-Y-Bont Crusader

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

3 hours ago, Pen-Y-Bont Crusader said:

 No. Just that the club budgeted for the whole of this season and nothing I’ve seen or heard contradicts that. 

The socials are still posting including the Women’s side news and team news I’m sure will be out today.

And you can clearly see ME in

the video taking the session. 

Edited April 17 by Pen-Y-Bont Crusader

[Deadcowboys1]

2 hours ago, Pen-Y-Bont Crusader said:

And you can clearly see ME in

the video taking the session. 

The guy holding the ball looks far too young to be Cakeman. There is no ME in the group at the end of the video either. If he was around, Jake would have posted some sort of content for sure. 

[Ethereal]

2 hours ago, Pen-Y-Bont Crusader said:

And you can clearly see ME in

the video taking the session. 

I thought for a moment you were making a proud post about you being the one leading the session.

[Angelus]

31 minutes ago, Deadcowboys1 said:

The guy holding the ball looks far too young to be Cakeman. There is no ME in the group at the end of the video either. If he was around, Jake would have posted some sort of content for sure. 

At the end of the video, 2nd in from the left.

Pretty sure that's Eccles

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

53 minutes ago, Angelus said:

At the end of the video, 2nd in from the left.

Pretty sure that's Eccles

It is.

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

 

[londonbronco]

<tinfoil hat on>So, where is the real Mike Eccles?  The man known for his ability to shape a ragtag squad of loanees, part-timers, and fresh-faced academy lads into a competitive unit is normally front and centre with a clipboard, hoodie and a facial expression halfway between “we go again” and “please no more dual-reg”.  No BroncosTV interviews. No training ground cameos. And just enough of a squad for the late team announcement against Barrow.  And still an eerie silence.  Or maybe Eccles is just really, really fed up of being asked if Iliess Macani’s coming back.

Sources close to absolutely no one suggest he’s been caught up in a secret takeover plot by the Consortium of Possible New Owners™. Word is, they’ve got big plans - and Eccles knows too much, having innocently turned up to a “regular scheduling meeting” in the Cherry Red boardroom and was reportedly ambushed by PowerPoint slides titled “Vision 2027: London Broncos Go Global” and “Rebranding Ideas: South West Storm?”.

He hasn’t been seen since. Some say he’s been hidden away in the old Wimbledon dressing rooms beneath the West Stand, where the WiFi doesn’t reach and only Darren the kit manager knows the way in.</tinfoil hat off>. 

[Angelus]

In non takeover news, the Broncos have been linked with a move for NZ Warriors marquee full back Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad for the 2026 season. 

If and when we're back in Super League. 

 

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby-league/warriors/nrl-warriors-transfer-watch-joseph-manu-charnze-nicoll-klokstad-te-maire-martin/JULHZYXAWJBYPBWFFNAC35M6XM/

[THE RED ROOSTER]

Steve Mascord has asked his fellow podcaster Tony Adams (AKA the Mole) about the London Broncos saga and Moley will be having a chat with Matt Adamson about this.

If we do not hear anything back (and there was nothing in today's podcast between the two) then my supposition remains that the fate of the London Broncos is tied up with the current conversations between the NRL and Super League clubs and broadcasters about the future of Northern Hemisphere Rugby League.

By the way, Matt Adamson may be involved in the Australian federal election as he was an unsuccessful candidate for Clive Palmer's Palmer United Party which rebranded to the United Australia party and has further rebranded to the Trumpet of Patriots Party for this federal election. This election is being held on Saturday 3rd May. So postponing the launch for a month from 15th April fits within this timeframe #justsaying. 

If I was an investor in a consortium, I would want to know the lie of the land so to speak before committing, and I suspect this is not the only takeover sitting in abeyance until there is some clarity as to the way ahead for the game.

Responsible journalists do not leak confidential information if their source has requested that this be kept out of the media, so I am not banking on Moley or anyone else breaking confidences for once you do that in the media your out of a job as noone will talk to you.

And if Mike Eccles gave a post match press conference, just what question do you think he would he be asked and porbably not be able to answer. Bit of a beard scratcher eh..

Some of the wild speculation in the media about London and about the NRL's intentions is I suspect being done by parties hostile to any change. Please note the principals in this, the NRL management and certain Super League club owners are very reticent on this subject and rightly so as you do not discuss business proposals in public.

 

 

[londonbronco]

And this is where things get complicated (all tongue in cheek of course!!!).  But what if it’s all true??!!

THE ECCLES FILES: PROJECT YORKSHIRE, NRL INCURSIONS & THE TRUMPET OF PATRIOTS

Let’s start at the top. There’s been increasing chatter, mostly written off as media noise, about the NRL’s intentions for London. Wild speculation, they say. But what if it’s not just speculation? What if the reason key players — NRL brass, certain Super League power brokers — are staying so quiet isn’t discretion, but damage control? What if discussions are already well advanced, and someone, somewhere, decided Eccles didn’t need to be in the room anymore?

Reports (all unverified, naturally) suggest Eccles accessed a restricted folder on the club laptop. “PROJECT YORKSHIRE: PHASE TWO.” Inside, apparently, were tactical plans for a soft cultural takeover of London rugby league. Pontefract player pipelines. Reverse ten-year loans. A flatcap megastore to anchor Garratt Lane in nostalgic Northern authenticity. Eccles saw too much. And then — poof — he’s gone.

But there’s a bigger piece on the board: Gary Hetherington. Officially, he’s “helping out.” Unofficially, he’s everywhere. The corridors, the dugouts, the boardroom. Always calm. Always Leeds. Always just a bit too helpful. The whispers say he’s consolidating control with a plan to rebrand the Broncos not as London’s club, but as Yorkshire’s capital-in-exile.

And here’s where it gets properly cooked.

Matt Adamson — yes, that Matt Adamson — has resurfaced in Australia, linked to the latest reincarnation of Clive Palmer’s political dream machine, now calling itself the Trumpet of Patriots Party. A federal election looms on 3rd May, and sources suggest that timelines for “Project Yorkshire” were hastily adjusted so as not to interfere with Adamson’s campaign. A man known for towering line breaks is now pushing a federal platform built on sovereignty, crypto, and perhaps an NRL London franchise powered by subterranean flat whites and retrofitted Bondi double-deckers.

Which explains why the originally mooted launch around mid-April has gone strangely quiet. All the key players are otherwise occupied — some in campaign war rooms, some in covert board meetings, and one possibly living under an assumed identity somewhere behind the AFC Wimbledon hospitality marquee.

All of this, of course, is unproven.

No doubt there will be an 'official' London Broncos statement about this soon.... 

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

1 hour ago, londonbronco said:

And this is where things get complicated (all tongue in cheek of course!!!).  But what if it’s all true??!!

THE ECCLES FILES: PROJECT YORKSHIRE, NRL INCURSIONS & THE TRUMPET OF PATRIOTS

Let’s start at the top. There’s been increasing chatter, mostly written off as media noise, about the NRL’s intentions for London. Wild speculation, they say. But what if it’s not just speculation? What if the reason key players — NRL brass, certain Super League power brokers — are staying so quiet isn’t discretion, but damage control? What if discussions are already well advanced, and someone, somewhere, decided Eccles didn’t need to be in the room anymore?

Reports (all unverified, naturally) suggest Eccles accessed a restricted folder on the club laptop. “PROJECT YORKSHIRE: PHASE TWO.” Inside, apparently, were tactical plans for a soft cultural takeover of London rugby league. Pontefract player pipelines. Reverse ten-year loans. A flatcap megastore to anchor Garratt Lane in nostalgic Northern authenticity. Eccles saw too much. And then — poof — he’s gone.

But there’s a bigger piece on the board: Gary Hetherington. Officially, he’s “helping out.” Unofficially, he’s everywhere. The corridors, the dugouts, the boardroom. Always calm. Always Leeds. Always just a bit too helpful. The whispers say he’s consolidating control with a plan to rebrand the Broncos not as London’s club, but as Yorkshire’s capital-in-exile.

And here’s where it gets properly cooked.

Matt Adamson — yes, that Matt Adamson — has resurfaced in Australia, linked to the latest reincarnation of Clive Palmer’s political dream machine, now calling itself the Trumpet of Patriots Party. A federal election looms on 3rd May, and sources suggest that timelines for “Project Yorkshire” were hastily adjusted so as not to interfere with Adamson’s campaign. A man known for towering line breaks is now pushing a federal platform built on sovereignty, crypto, and perhaps an NRL London franchise powered by subterranean flat whites and retrofitted Bondi double-deckers.

Which explains why the originally mooted launch around mid-April has gone strangely quiet. All the key players are otherwise occupied — some in campaign war rooms, some in covert board meetings, and one possibly living under an assumed identity somewhere behind the AFC Wimbledon hospitality marquee.

All of this, of course, is unproven.

No doubt there will be an 'official' London Broncos statement about this soon.... 

The only flaw in all that I can see is that the Leather Bottle on Garratt Lane (the same name as my own legendary local in Halewood) is far too London-centric for any northern culture to permeate it!

[newbe]

Heard thru the grapevine, meeting at Oz House now for middle of next month.

[Gomersall]

 

[Henson Park Old Firm]

1 hour ago, newbe said:

Heard thru the grapevine, meeting at Oz House now for middle of next month.

Do you know who will be buying the club... or any insiders gossip?

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

5 hours ago, Henson Park Old Firm said:

Do you know who will be buying the club... or any insiders gossip?

 

[Angelus]

On 18/04/2025 at 13:34, Henson Park Old Firm said:

Do you know who will be buying the club... or any insiders gossip?

I don't think a lot of people do.

And the ones that do are staying quiet 

News will break sooner or later.

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

Great result for the women’s side today.