MATCH REPORT: Bradford Bulls 20-6 London Broncos
Jake Watson • 16 February 2025
MATCH REPORT: Bradford Bulls 20-6 London Broncos
The 2025 Betfred Championship season kicked off for London Broncos at Bradford Bulls Odsal Stadium.
In what was a typically chilly February afternoon there were contrasting expectations on the respective teams seasons. For Mike Eccles’ Broncos there were just five players in the matchday squad who had featured in the 2024 season and only 4 who had played a league game. Whilst for Brian Noble’s hosts they had recruited heavily and their plan is to be in Super League as soon as 2025.
Despite Jake Thewlis and Zac Bardsley-Rowe only joining up with the Broncos squad this week the pair went straight into the starting line-up alongside fellow teenager and loan player Kian McDermott. Meanwhile Lukas Mason was named as interchange.
Alex Walker got things underway as he kicked things off and it quickly became apparent that this Broncos side were not intimidated by the task in front of them and matched the Bulls set for set.
Connor O’Beirne and Luke Polselli were playing in the halves alongside one another for the first time but the Aussie connection was clear from the off as they carried a constant threat with the ball in hand. Polselli with his pace and O’Beirne’s kicking game gave plenty to think about for the Bulls defence.
13 minutes in and it was Broncos first to threaten the scoreboard as Luke Polselli tried the grubber but that nearly backfired as it was collected by Taufusi who then released Holmes who was inches away from racing the full length but a desperate Broncos tackle prevented the certain score.
Just a couple of minutes later Chris Hellec - who was celebrating making his debut on his birthday - intercepted a Bulls attack 10 metres out and raced away. It always appeared he would likely be caught but he managed to get halfway before he was illegally stopped with a high tackle.
Broncos were growing in confidence and defending well which made it almost predictable that the Bulls would at that point open the scoring. Meadows with the high kick to the left hand side seeking out Armitage - both former Broncos of course. Thewlis had perfect sight of it and no doubt defends it perfectly on any other occasion that the player challenging for the ball with him isn’t a number of inches taller! Lilley misses the kick from the touchline and Bulls lead by 4.
28 minutes in and Broncos enjoyed a great spell of pressure. O’Beirne was stopped just a metre away from the line and then Aaron Small made a dive for the line from acting dummy half but was held up. The pressure would eventually tell as Jensen Monk went over to score his first London Broncos try.
It’s a big year for the Bromley born loose forward who is expected to feature heavily this season and will no doubt be delighted to open his account on the opening day. Hellec was the man tasked with the conversion and he made no mistake to put the Broncos in the lead at the break.
In the second half the passages of play took a far more dominant direction as the home side began with a much higher intensity. The depth within the Bulls squad was used to its full effect with the likes of Franklin Pele, Emmanuel Waine and Ronan Michel all huge bodies that are ideal to run at tiring defenders.
In the 48th minute Bradford broke through the Broncos defence to score. Ebon Scurr spotted a hole in the back line from around 5 metres out and at that speed he wasn’t going to be stopped. Lilley added the extras and Bradford were back in front and momentum was firmly with the Bulls.
In the 60th minute Bradford extended the lead in almost identical circumstances as Sam Hallas managed to shake off a couple of Broncos tackles to score. Lilley from a very similar spot added the extras. 16-6.
By this stage it felt as if the chance for the Broncos win had slipped away with very few good ball sets and lots of rotation in the middles who had gone through huge amounts of work. Keeping the score close was now the aim of the game.
In the 65th minute Jorge Taufua scored his first of the season as Bradford moved the ball quickly to the right hand side and with pitch running out, the winger just kept in play to get the ball down and creep the scoreboard up further. The conversion attempt from the touchline was difficult and was duly missed.
Late on Broncos almost reduced the deficit as O’Beirne’s high kick caused some panic in the Bradford defence. Gill tried to swat the ball dead but it didn’t go out and both Polselli and Small scrambled to get a hand on it but were a fingernail short of getting the required pressure on the ball.
The game ended with the Bulls taking the two points and whilst Mike Eccles will never be happy with a defeat, they were huge positives to take away from a London Broncos side who will only get better from this point.
TEAM NEWS: Toulouse Olympique vs London Broncos Here is your starting line-up for this afternoon’s Championship with Toulouse at the Stade Ernest-Wallon. Brandon Webster-Mansfield comes in at centre to make his full debut and Connor O’Beirne returns to the starting line-up following injury. #WeAreLondon
MATCH PREVIEW: Toulouse Olympique vs London Broncos London Broncos head into one of the stand out fixtures of the season on Sunday when they make the trip to the south of France to take on Toulouse Olympique. Not only is it a visit to the side topping the Championship table but it is also the destination of one of the best days in the club's recent history. Securing promotion against Toulouse in 2023 was the last meeting between the two sides but despite the Broncos coming out on top that day it is the French who will be favourites on Sunday. Broncos come into this game on the back of a losing run but shoots of improvements were clear to see in the narrow defeat to Widnes last time out and will be boosted by the squad named. Squad Information Mike Eccles has named the 21-man travelling party for this weekend’s trip to Toulouse as Brandon Webster-Mansfield is named for the first time since arriving. Alongside Webster-Mansfield we also Liam Tindall and Connor O’Beirne return, coming as a huge boost for the squad. Sam Winney also returns to the 21 for the first time since breaking his jaw in the away game at Barrow. Jack Smith who is on dual registration from Leeds Rhinos also joins the group after scoring two tries on his debut for the club against Widnes Vikings. Lewis Bienek remains the only major absentee however it is hoped he will be fit for the next game at Hunslet.
MATCH PREVIEW: Mike Eccles looks ahead to Toulouse trip London Broncos Director of Rugby & Performance Mike Eccles has done his pre-match interview ahead of the trip to Toulouse and has offered a positive update. Liam Tindall and Connor O'Beirne are in contention to play following injuries and Lewis Bienek will hopefully be ready for the next game against Hunslet. Jack Smith, Connor Barley and Kian McDermott and Lukas Mason make up the rest of the squad. Watch the full interview with Mike below. #WeAreLondon
SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: Toulouse Olympique vs London Broncos Mike Eccles has named the 21-man travelling party for this weekend’s trip to Toulouse as Brandon Webster-Mansfield is named for the first time since arriving. Alongside Webster-Mansfield we also Liam Tindall and Connor O’Beirne return, coming as a huge boost for the squad. Sam Winney also returns to the 21 for the first time since breaking his jaw in the away game at Barrow. Jack Smith who is on dual registration from Leeds Rhinos also joins the group after scoring two tries on his debut for the club against Widnes Vikings. Lewis Bienek remains the only major absentee however it is hoped he will be fit for the next game at Hunslet. #WeAreLondon
TOULOUSE TRAINING GALLERY The final session with the squad before we fly out to Toulouse on Saturday ahead of Sunday's Championship clash at the State Ernest-Wallon. #WeAreLondon
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Who has played for both? Toulouse Olympique & London Broncos It’s pretty common when we do these articles that there are a number of current players playing for the opposition, but perhaps Sheffield Eagles and Toulouse Olympique win the record for the highest number this season. So, before you all guess these five, Toulouse have 5 players in the current squad who have featured for London Broncos; Paul Ulberg, Ollie Ashall-Bott, Greg Richards, Callum Gahan and Rob Butler. Let’s focus on some of the players that no longer don the colours of either side and their history with us both; Rhys Curran An Aussie born French international, Curran spent two seasons at London Broncos before hanging up his boots. Still residing in London you can regularly expect to see Rhys coming down to The Cherry Red Records to support his former teammates. However, he can count a number of the Toulouse players as former teammates as he spent a very fruitful four seasons playing for the club between 2016 and 2019 and prior to that he played in Elite VIII for Villeneuve. Through residency (living for three years in France) Curran would play three times for the French national team in 2018.
FANS FORUM - WHAT WAS SAID? Question: Are we going to change our name from London Broncos? GH: I changed the name at Leeds and I can tell you that at the time it was unpopular. The fans of Leeds didn't want to change names. They said, we don't want all these gimmicky names. We did change, and this is the best thing we ever did. They created a new logo, a new brand, a new identity in many respects, a new mascot, and it's the best thing we ever did. If you ask 99% of the Leeds Rhinos fans now they will say that was a pretty good decision. For us, it is being researched and ultimately no decision has been made and everyone needs to have an opinion and give it to me. It may well be (changed), and I was with a fairly prominent person the other day who came up with a very well-reasoned recommendation as to what the name should be. I thought, well, I never really thought about that, but it was a well-presented argument. We need as many of those as possible. We need to think about it and ultimately make a decision in the best interests of the club. Question: Are you going to share it? (suggestion for new name) GH: Well, since you've asked me the question, I will, yes. I won't give you the name of the person I'm talking to, but he's a very prominent person in the media, he's a Rugby League fan, and he's not an Englishman. But he was saying, in his opinion, the name should be simply London Rugby League. I said to him thank you very much for your suggestion and that it needs to be in the melting pot like all the other suggestions. Question: On behalf of all the long-standing London fans in this room tonight, and I know most of them personally, we've all been together for many years. Can we just thank you for the interest and the commitment you've taken to The Club? Thank you. Honestly, it's created a superb momentum because of someone of your stature being involved in London. So, thank you very much. GH: Well, thank you for that, and I feel very humbled by that and what I don't want to do is make any false promises. I think this is a fascinating journey, but it's a journey that I don't know how long it's going to take. What I do know is it's all based on people's commitments coming together and as I've said several times, I don't have a magic wand. I think my role is to actually galvanise interest and commitment and try and give it an opportunity, manifesting itself for the collective good of the club. That's primarily my role in all of this. And I can see by the attendance tonight that there's a great passion and a great interest and a great commitment as well. So that's a pretty good starting point. So I'm pretty confident that we've got quite a few ingredients in place. It's going to be a tough journey because it's a tough league. The Super League is an incredibly tough competition. The Championship is a terrific competition and it's so competitive. So to make progress we need to be pretty well organised and ready to go. We're ready to go and ready to make progress and my role in all this is to try and actually organise that and make it happen.
NEW PRE-ORDER STORE NOW ONLINE! London Broncos are delighted to announce a new pre-order shop from Paladin Sports is now live and includes the 2025 Women's Replica Shirts. For the first time you can now order the Women's playing kits in Mens, Women's and Kids sizings. Also added to the pre-order store is the return of the Bomber Jacket and also the Basketball singlet in Men's, Women's and Kids options. Browse the pre-order store HERE!!
GAMEWEEK: Toulouse vs London Broncos London Broncos move into Round 13 of the Championship this season with an away trip to the league leaders Toulouse Olympique. With it undoubtedly one of the toughest tests of the season so far Mike Eccles will be looking to draw on inspiration from the last visit to Toulouse which saw us beat Sylvain Houles side and secure a place back in Super League. An update from the head coach will come later in the week but fans will be hoping to hear good news on the injury front with a number of key players closing in on a return to action.
