London winger Ben Hellewell believes the Broncos will use the underdog tag to their advantage when they face his former club Featherstone Rovers in the Kingstone Press Championship Shield final on Sunday.
The Broncos defeated Dewsbury Rams in the semi-final to book their place in the inaugural Championship Shield showdown at the Select Security Stadium, Widnes.
Hellewell, who spent two years at Featherstone, says it’s not the first time the Broncos have been underdogs this year, which has paid dividends for them.
“We’ve been underdogs in a few games this season playing against a few tough opponents,” he said.
“Whoever has that underdog tag, and it will probably be us, then they don’t really have nothing to lose and it makes you play a little bit better, especially our team as well.
“We really thrive on being the underdogs. We were when we played against Leigh, Featherstone and Sheffield and we came out as winners, so I think that it could work in our favour again.”
London missed out on the Qualifiers, but under the stewardship of Andrew Henderson, the Broncos have an opportunity to reward everyone associated with the club with some silverware.
“We’ve worked hard all season,” said Hellewell. “There has been ups and downs, but as a club, I think we deserve it this year, to be honest.
“It’ll be great for David Hughes, the owner, who’s been here through thick and thin, as well as all the backroom staff, the players and the supporters who travel week in, week out for away games.
“We’ve been waiting for a bit of silverware for a few years now, so this year’s a massive opportunity for us to sign off on 2015 with a trophy.”
The 2015 Kingstone Press Championship finals day schedule is as follows:
11.30am – Conference Challenge Trophy final – Leigh Miners Rangers v Wath Brow Hornets
2.00pm – Kingstone Press League 1 play-off final – Keighley Cougars v Swinton Lions
4.30pm – Kingstone Press Championship Shield final – Featherstone Rovers v London Broncos
See a full report from Sunday’s matches in Monday issue of League Express
