LONDON BRONCOS have brought in pack prospect Bobby Hartley after he caught the eye while playing for Keighley Cougars this year.

The 19-year-old appeared five times across all competitions for the Yorkshire club, who signed him back in January following his departure from Leeds Rhinos.

Hartley came through the Scholarship and Academy ranks at Leeds, playing both prop and loose-forward.

He turned out three times for the Rhinos Reserves and also had a three-game loan spell at Whitehaven, then in the Championship, in 2024.

It seems London see him as a budding secondrower – and have termed him “hard-hitting, with strength, pace and a hunger to make his mark”.

He will work under new coach Jason Demetriou (pictured) and also learn from another Australian, seasoned prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard, the former Kangaroos and New South Wales star who has joined the capital club from Gold Coast Titans in the wake of the takeover by Brisbane Broncos legend Darren Lockyer and mining magnate Grant Wechsel.

The ambitious pair aim to bring Super League rugby back to London after losing out to Toulouse Olympique and York Knights in the recent application process to join the expanded 14-team competition.

The Broncos, who have made ex-coach Mike Eccles director of rugby, are building a squad they hope can achieve success in the new merged second tier next year.

While signing overseas players – South Sydney Rabbitohs hooker Siliva Havili and Parramatta Eels halfback Dean Hawkins are also on board for 2026 – the Broncos also want to give opportunities to promising youngsters, and have also recruited backrow Jake Ramsden from the Warrington Wolves Academy ranks.