LONDON BRONCOS 78 HUNSLET 16
DAVID BALLHEIMER, Kuflink Stadium, Ebbsfleet, Saturday

LONDON continue to rewrite club history, with Gairo Voro the latest man to etch his name into their record books.

Halfback Voro didn’t just beat the Broncos’ individual record of five tries in a game, held jointly by three players, but with the 15th and final try of this rout of Hunslet, smashed it with a seventh touchdown.

And that concluding score also took his total points haul to 44, surpassing the record of 42 set only four months ago by team-mate James Meadows.

Having only kicked eight of his 14 attempts in the wind, and allowed Brandon Webster-Mansfield to slot over the last, Voro’s tally could have been even higher.

These are just the latest remarkable figures in unbeaten London’s serene run through the Championship.

Perhaps the writing was on the wall for Hunslet when they received the kick-off and lost Billy Jowitt to injury on their opening possession. 

When London got the ball, they scored, Finley Glare and Connor O’Beirne combining to send Alex Walker – whose own try treble was a mere footnote – over and establish the pattern for the match.

From the restart, a Voro bomb was caught by Neil Tchamambe. He passed to O’Beirne, who gave Will Lovell a try.

Hunslet could not stop London and, after conceding a penalty, Siliva Havili became the third Broncos try-scorer.

Ten minutes after last touching the ball, Hunslet got it back, but they kicked on the third tackle. A batted-down pass extended the London possession and Voro opened his account near the left corner.

Lee Gaskell’s restart bounced into touch and, after a six-again, Gaskell sent Charlie Graham in for a Hunslet try.

Graham then picked up a loose ball and sprinted 60 metres downfield before Elliot Wallis and Brandon Webster-Mansfield stopped him. 

On the next play, with the Broncos out of position, Gaskell’s bomb invited Mo Agoro to score by the right corner post, and Gaskell’s touchline conversion was superb.

Two more home tries made it 30-10 at the break. First O’Beirne added another assist in the 33rd minute, passing to Voro, who ran behind the posts, then Walker stepped through a tired defence for his second try. 

Early in the second half, back-to-back penalties gave Hunslet great position, but Harrison Gilmore was offside as he touched down a Kevin Larroyer grubber.

Voro then scored his third, taking an O’Beirne pass and cutting inside Joe Butterfield before touching down.

Voro’s fourth try was a scintillating 50-metre run, from another O’Beirne pass, and he skipped through two tacklers before outstripping Myles Harrop.

Webster-Mansfield made the key break for London’s ninth try. He could have passed outside to Wallis, but went inside to Walker, who completed his hat-trick.

O’Beirne was denied another assist in the 58th minute because Walker had to tip his pass beyond Josh Ratuvou out to Wallis to score in the left corner.

Voro then scored all the next twelve points, skirting behind the posts from an O’Beirne pass after 62 minutes, then finishing off a powerful break from Glare.

Tchamambe got in on the act with ten minutes remaining, running onto a long O’Beirne pass for his 23rd try of the year.

Hunslet got their third try when Harrop ran onto a well-directed grubber from Gaskell, who added the extras, but there was still time for London to add two more tries. 

First Luke Smith took a Glare pass and scored near the right touchline, then as the hooter sounded Voro completed the scoring with his seventh try off another Glare pass.

London coach Jason Demetriou said: “This group keep adapting and we rose to the occasion. Some of the football we played today was outstanding.”

GAMESTAR: Gairo Voro, PNG-bound in 2028, set new records with seven tries and 44 points.

GAMEBREAKER: Hunslet’s two quick tries made it 20–10, but two more London scores before interval took the game away from them.

MATCHFACTS

BRONCOS
22 Alex Walker
2 Elliot Wallis
20 Brandon Webster-Mansfield
11 Luke Smith
26 Neil Tchamambe
23 Gairo Voro
6 Connor O’Beirne
8 Reagan Campbell-Gillard
14 Finley Glare
10 Emarly Bitungane
19 Ben Hursey
21 Will Lovell
13 Siliva Havili
Subs (all used)
9 Sam Davis
17 Marcus Stock
24 Lewis Bienek
29 Jake Ramsden

Tries: Walker (5, 37, 54), Lovell (9), Havili (12), Voro (17, 33, 48, 51, 62, 66, 80), Wallis (58), Tchamambe (70), Smith (78)
Goals: Voro 8/14, Webster-Mansfield 1/1

HUNSLET
18 Jimmy Watson
27 Charlie Graham
3 Myles Harrop
44 Josh Ratuvou
5 Mo Agoro
6 Lee Gaskell
1 Billy Jowitt
26 Ethan O’Hanlon
37 Aiden Doolan
8 Harvey Hallas
11 Harrison Gilmore
20 Liam Carr
13 Eddie Battye
Subs (all used)
17 Kevin Larroyer
29 Anthony Walker
38 Sam Grice
39 Joe Butterfield

Tries: Graham (22), Agoro (28), Harrop (76)
Goals: Gaskell 2/3

SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 10-0, 16-0, 20-0, 20-4, 20-10, 26-10, 30-10; 36-10, 42-10, 48-10, 52-10, 58-10, 64-10, 68-10, 68-16, 72-16, 78-16

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Broncos: Connor O’Beirne; Hunslet: Lee Gaskell

Penalty count: 6-5
Half-time: 30-10
Referee: Adam Williams