London Broncos coach Danny Ward (pictured) expects homegrown halfback James Meadows to become a prominent figure in his squad next season.
Meadows featured twice for the Broncos this year, as well as in seven games for Sheffield Eagles.
Morgan Smith and new signing Cory Aston have been handed the starting squad numbers for the halfback positions, but Ward insists little should be read into that.
“Jimmy had a great year of development, playing in Super League and at Sheffield as well,” Ward said.
“He’s been outstanding in training so far too.
“He’s only a young kid with lots to work on, but he’s got so many qualities.
“He’s a real leader on the field and talks very well. People might look at the squad numbers and think, because Cory and Morgan are six and seven, that it’s nailed on, but I expect Jimmy to push them all the way this season.
“I hate doing squad numbers – you could do it alphabetically for me.
“I know some of the boys buy into it, but I don’t.
“If we get another quality signing in they could be the best in the world but they’ll still be number 26 for us.”
That next signing could still be former Hull KR prop Mitch Allgood, with the club continuing to try and secure a visa for his services.
Ward added: “We’re pretty solid at halfback and hooker and if anything we’d be looking at another middle or an outside back to give us some cover.
“But I’m not too stressed. We certainly won’t panic and will make sure we pick the right fit for us.”
© League Express (Mon 9th Dec 2019)
