London Broncos swept the board in the Championship, completing a remarkable treble with a crushing Grand Final victory over Doncaster. But, even winning everything on the field is no guarantee of a place in Super League.

IN THE old days – i.e., three years ago – winning the Championship Grand Final would have been enough to ensure promotion to Super League.

Now, who knows?

Well, that’s not quite true. It’s down to the ever-shifting workings of the IMG gradings. And possibly whether the NRL wants a particular team in the top flight as part of their proposed investment. And maybe even the lines of Venus being in the right juxtaposition.

Flippancy aside, the point is there are few guarantees any more. Proponents of abolishing automatic promotion and relegation will, of course, point to the current system ensuring clubs have met certain standards both on and off the field, and allowing sides to focus on the long-term without the constant fear of looking over their shoulder.

Yet that still doesn’t shake the feeling for those in the second tier looking up that they are being further shut out of the opportunity to compete in Super League.

So it was for London Broncos and Doncaster as their respective groups of players stepped out onto the field at the Cherry Red Records Stadium for this year’s Championship title decider, with both clubs harbouring ambitions of eventually joining the sport’s elite.

A 78-6 win for the capital club completed the final leg of the second-tier domestic treble to go with the League Leaders’ Shield and the 1895 Cup, underlining just how dominant the Londoners have been in the Championship this year.

Yet the uncertainty around what comes next cast a pall over what was otherwise a celebration of unprecedented success.

“It’s odd – I don’t think I’ve ever been in a position like this before,” said Broncos head coach Jason Demetriou, who flew out to Papua New Guinea the following day knowing a decision on his club’s immediate future could be made while he was overseeing the Kumuls at the Rugby League World Cup.

“I’ve been in promotion and relegation fights as a coach and a player, and you know what the outcome is at the end of it.

“This is a very different sort of scenario and it’s difficult to have that conversation with the playing group as well.”

As it happened, news came through three days later that London would not be admitted to Super League on the basis of their IMG grading.

The Broncos’ total of 9.77 out of a theoretical maximum score of 20 points was over three points behind the lowest-placed Super League team (last year’s Championship runners-up York Knights), and even second-tier rivals Barrow Raiders were narrowly ahead of them on 9.85.

So, that’s everything cleared up, right? The Broncos know they are going to be playing in the Championship next year, yes?

If only everything in rugby league was so simple or logical.

At the time of writing, uncertainty continued to linger. A London presence in the top flight has been reported by multiple outlets to be a condition of the NRL investing in Super League, with negotiations continuing between parties from the Northern and Southern Hemisphere competitions in the background of this year’s World Cup down under.

While the finer details continue to be hashed out, it means clubs in both British professional leagues still have no idea what their respective formats will be in 2027.

For Super League, will the competition remain at 14 teams or expand to 15? And if it’s the latter, it will, in turn, mean conversations need to start about bye weeks for teams, what changes there will be to the central funding model and how Magic Weekend will work.

All this for a competition which still does not have a confirmed broadcast deal or title sponsor in place for 2027.

As far as the Championship goes, there are questions about how many clubs will be involved and how the expected split into two conferences will work – not just because London may still be promoted, but because Featherstone Rovers could potentially be readmitted after financial issues saw them excluded from the 2026 campaign.

Should they stay in the second tier for 2027, the Broncos would have to figure out how to build a squad under the new revenue-linked salary cap – which, at its highest level, allows for a maximum spend of £500,000 for clubs with revenues of £1 million-plus.

Uncertainty, too, abounds for London’s players, with Demetriou having at least 20 signed on for next year but eight to 10 squad members who are out of contract and left waiting for a decision to be made on the club’s immediate future before they can be offered terms.

There is also uncertainty for incoming duo Toby King and Joe Philbin, signed from Warrington Wolves with – it is fair to surmise – the expectation they would be staying in Super League with the Londoners next year.

“We don’t know what level we are going to be playing at, and that will change everything in terms of budget, recruitment and all that sort of stuff,” Demetriou, who expects plenty of Super League interest in members of his squad if London stay in the Championship for next year, said.

“There are quite a few [players] just sitting and waiting now.

“It’s a difficult situation for a player and a coach, but we’ll sit and wait, and whatever it is adapt, adjust and get ready for next year.”

At least one London representative will be in the top flight next year, that being the Broncos women, who were honoured at half-time of the clash with Doncaster after earning promotion courtesy of their victory over Leigh Leopards in their play-off at the DW Stadium prior to the Women’s Super League Grand Final the previous week.

How they must be glad what they needed to do to secure a place in the top division was a relatively simple equation.

Nevertheless, former South Sydney Rabbitohs boss Demetriou is ready to play the cards as they’re dealt, whether it’s promotion or staying put.

“For me, I’ve prepared for A and B scenarios and I’m pretty comfortable where I’m at, as soon as a decision is made things will start being activated and fall into place,” Demetriou said.

“We’ve ticked every box. As a coach, I can’t control outside the field … and I said from day one we wanted to win every trophy available and earn the right to be in Super League so if we do get the nod, from a performance perspective we’re ready to go. I think that was evident.”

On the basis of results alone, few would argue the Broncos men look ready for Super League.

They only suffered one defeat in the Championship all season, going down 34-24 away to Oldham in August, while the win over Doncaster in the Grand Final saw them breeze past the 2,000-point mark for the 2026 season inside the first half.

Even with the investment of Australian rugby league icon Darren Lockyer and mining magnate Grant Wechsel, few would dispute that the Broncos’ performances this season have been remarkable given the team was brought together from the North of England, Australia and Papua New Guinea, plus some homegrown talent, in the space of six weeks before the season kicked off.

Proudly sporting a ‘Treble Winners’ T-shirt in the immediate aftermath of the triumph over Doncaster, Demetriou was at least determined to enjoy the moment as much as possible – whatever uncertainty lingered.

“We wanted to get out there and achieve the things we set out to achieve, and then enjoy it as a group,” Demetriou said.

“The group never stays the same year on year and there are some boys leaving, and it’s important we finished the year off.

“What will be will be and, for us, it was about making sure we’re playing a brand of footy and improving as individuals so, if we do get the opportunity to go up, we’re in a great position to do that.”

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 526 (November 2026)