MATCH REPORT: London Broncos 14-12 Featherstone Rovers
Jake Watson • 23 February 2025
MATCH REPORT: London Broncos 14-12 Featherstone Rovers
London Broncos started their 2025 home campaign with two points after an outstanding defensive display against one of the top sides in the division.
Like Bradford Bulls, who Broncos faced in gameweek one, Featherstone are fancied to challenge at the top end of the Championship this season so was always going to provide a stern test for Mike Eccles side.
Despite failing to pick up the win against the Bulls there would have been huge positivity taken from the performance that would give fans a degree of expectancy this afternoon which perhaps wasn’t there when the fixtures were announced.
That expectancy took an almost immediate knock as Broncos spilled the ball from the kick-off and Featherstone instantly had a set in front of the Broncos try line. It was an unfortunate start to say the least as Thomas Lacans wriggled over to give the visitors the lead after no more than a couple of minutes. Callum Turner added the extras and it was 0-6.
How Broncos would react to that knock back would be telling as the group are still so green in their development. But as is typical with a team coached under Mike Eccles they would stand firm and the game would begin to settle. Rovers would have the majority of the ball but Broncos were strong in defence and looked dangerous when given the opportunity to attack.
Liam Tindall signed permanently during the week and admitted in the post-match press conference he is still learning his teammates names! However, he was more familiar with where the tryline was. The ball swept across to the left-hand side as Tindall collected the ball around 10 metres out and he escaped the attention of the two tackles to get the ball down. Hellec’s conversion was from the touchline and was unsuccessful. 4-6 Rovers.
That try gave the Broncos a huge lift and the ascendancy was now fully with the home side. A Walker kick was lofted high and Huw Worthington did brilliantly to collect before offloading to Davies who passed to O’Beirne. The counter attack was swift and decisive as O’Beirne looped a pass over a head to Tindall who raced away to score twice in three minutes. Hellec’s kick was in an identical position and in challenging conditions it unsurprisingly went wide. Broncos 8-6.
For the second time in a row the Broncos would lead at the break. Not just a physical test for next 40 minutes but also psychological to stay in front,
The following 40 took a similar pattern with Featherstone dominating field position and possession without being able to break a staunch Broncos defence. As time went on you got the feeling that Featherstone were running out of ideas as to getting over the line.
That changed in the 70th minute as the opportunity was giftwrapped to the visitors as Broncos looked to score from a rare good ball set a loose pass from O’Beirne was intercepted by Carlos Tuimavave who ran 80 minutes to score under the posts. Rovers now in front and impending heartbreak once again, perhaps. 8-12 Rovers.
Now with it all to do the Broncos began to push for that score, which perhaps they hadn’t had the incentive to do prior to that Tuimavave score. They looked dangerous and Bienek came charging through and as he went past once tackle you almost expected the big prop to go flying over the line but he was somehow stopped a yard short.
But with three minutes remaining Tayor Kerr would cap a brilliant personal performance and score the try. The youngster on loan from Wigan had only had two training sessions with his new teammates but has clearly settled very well as he linked up play from hooker or loose throughout the course of his time on the pitch. He picked up and darted for the line from dummy half and Hellec held his nerve to add the extras and seal the win. Broncos 14-12.
BRONCOS: Walker, Thewlis, Small, Hellec, Tindall, Polselli, O’Beirne, McDermott, Davies, Bienek, Lovell, Adebiyi, Stock. INTERCHANGES: Monk, Worthington, Mason & Kerr
Tries: Tindall x2, Kerr
Conversions: Hellec 1/3
The Best of North London vs the Best of South London do battle in Brentwood
MATCH PREVIEW: Widnes Vikings vs London Broncos It is the final weekend of the Championship season and London Broncos make the trip up to Widnes Vikings. Broncos were unable to sign off the home campaign with a win over Bradford Bulls but put in a positive display leading at half-time and scoring 24 points against the promotion hopefuls. Widnes have enjoyed a revival in recent months and made a late charge for the play-off positions. Ultimately a defeat at Halifax last week meant they would fall short but would still be confident of finishing the season on a high in front of their own supporters. SQUAD INFO Mike Eccles has named his 21-man squad for the final game of the 2025 Championship season. London Broncos finish the season with a trip up to take on Widnes Vikings at The DCBL Stadium on Sunday, 3pm KO. Worthington, Hellec, Hursey-Hord, Small and Okoro are all unavailable for the final game but in come Lukas Mason on dual-registration from Wigan Warriors as does Sam Winney. Rob Oakley is also named in the 21-man squad after returning from his ban. Oakley is a product of the club's academy and played for the first-team in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The 25-year-old has been training with the club in recent months and now available for selection he is named in the matchday squad.
SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: Widnes Vikings vs London Broncos Mike Eccles has named his 21-man squad for the final game of the 2025 Championship season. London Broncos finish the season with a trip up to take on Widnes Vikings at The DCBL Stadium on Sunday, 3pm KO. Worthington, Hellec, Hursey-Hord, Small and Okoro are all unavailable for the final game but in come Lukas Mason on dual-registration from Wigan Warriors as does Sam Winney. Rob Oakley is also named in the 21-man squad after returning from his ban. Oakley is a product of the club's academy and played for the first-team in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The 25-year-old has been training with the club in recent months and now available for selection he is named in the matchday squad. #WeAreLondon
INTERVIEW: Ted Davidson's journey to London Broncos first-team Ted Davidson recently made his full first-team debut for London Broncos in the Championship game at Batley Bulldogs. The 23-year-old was a stand out performer despite perhaps being a surprise inclusion in the starting 13. The centre has been in and around the club for a number of years after being spotted playing Origin whilst at junior club Elmbridge Eagles in 2018.
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Awards presented at the Broncos by Rugby League Legend Darren Lockyer
GAMEWEEK: Widnes Vikings vs London Broncos It is the final weekend of the Championship season and London Broncos make the trip up to Widnes Vikings. Broncos were unable to sign off the home campaign with a win over Bradford Bulls but put in a positive display leading at half-time and scoring 24 points against the promotion hopefuls. Widnes have enjoyed a revival in recent months and made a late charge for the play-off positions. Ultimately a defeat at Halifax last week meant they would fall short but will still be confident of finishing the season on a high in front of their own supporters. You can buy tickets for the game HERE!!
LONDON BRONCOS V BRADFORD BULLS (by David Ballheimer) London Broncos (12) 24, Bradford Bulls (10) 34 London Broncos ended their 2025 home season with a defeat against Bradford Bulls, blown away by 40 minutes of power, strength and not a little skill. The Bulls, easily the physically biggest team the Broncos have faced this season, were completely outplayed for the first 35 minutes, when London might reasonably have hoped for a three- or four-try lead. In the eighth minute, the Bulls made a handling error inside their 10 and their desperate defence went too far as they were penalised for a ball-strip two metres from their line. This time, the Broncos made Bradford pay, Luke Polselli taking a short Connor O’Beirne pass and running through a large hole in the defence. Jack Smith, as he would do after every try, added the extras. Polselli figured frequently in attack, unfortunately knocking on five metres away from a second score, but then delivering a superb grubber kick that he almost reached, but Jayden Okunbor touched down moments before the London No.6. It led to a goal-line dropout which the Bulls were able to defend. Quite how much Bradford were struggling was shown by head coach Brian Noble, who worked as a mentor with the Broncos player-head coach Andrew Henderson at The Hive in 2015, came down to pitch-side to deliver tactical and technical advice first-hand. In the 26th minute, London again applied pressure on the Bulls line and, from dummy half, Brandon Webster-Mansfield burrowed under the markers for London’s second score. A third Broncos score before half-time might have put the game beyond Bradford’s reach. Instead, the Bulls made a key substitution, sending on the veteran Chris Hill. The prop, a winner of 41 international caps for England and Great Britain and almost 400 games in Super League, made it a personal crusade to offload every time he carried the ball. The game’s turning point came with a 35th-minute penalty to Bradford just inside London’s half. A kick inside the 20 gave the Bulls all the territory they required, especially when they got a repeat set of tackles. After a couple of carry-ups, the ball was sent to the left where Guy Armitage, given his chance in rugby league by the Broncos, forced his way over.
POST-MATCH: Mike Eccles following final home game of the season Watch the post-match interview from Mike Eccles following the final game of the 2025 season at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. In a wide ranging interview Mike discusses the result but also the plans moving forward for the club. #WeAreLondon
TEAM NEWS: London Broncos vs Bradford Bulls Here is your starting line up for this afternoon's final home game of the 2025 Championship season. Will Lovell and Sadiq Adebiyi return to the starting 13 after injury and Brandon Webster Mansfield starts after being an unused interchange last weekend. Ben Hursey-Hord also makes the 17 after being unavailable last week and Ted Davidson keeps a place in the matchday squad after impressing on full debut against Batley. #WeAreLondon
