MATCH REPORT: London Broncos vs Oldham RLFC
Jake Watson • 25 August 2025
MATCH REPORT: LONDON BRONCOS V OLDHAM RLFC (by David Ballheimer)
London Broncos (12) 18, Oldham RLFC (8) 20
London Broncos suffered their fourth two-point home defeat of the season despite a truly magnificent defensive performance, especially in the second half. It did not help that London made three handling errors inside their own 10-metre zone, none of which were punished.
It was London who enjoyed the bulk of the early territorial battle but when Huw Worthington was ruled held up in goal after seven minutes it was the first time either team had gone remotely close to scoring. Oldham appeared to be out of sorts; their recent influx of players meant they probably had not had much time on the training field to get to know each other’s style of play. They didn’t help their cause by committing two late-hit penalties in three minutes.
The second one, a shot on Connor O’Beirne as he kicked, led to the opening score. In the 15th minute, Sadiq Adebiyi was able to burst through a couple of tacklers to ground the ball and Jack Smith turned four points into six. For all of the opening quarter, it was London who held the upper hand, but Oldham’s first attack showed menace although it ended tamely just inside the Broncos’ 20. This did signal a shift in the balance of play and the Roughyeds started to win the territorial battle.
A lost ball gifted Oldham a short field, but the home defence was solid and on the last tackle, Smith caught Josh Drinkwater’s kick and London started a counter-attack which ended with O’Beirne kicking deep. The Roughyeds had already kicked early in the tackle count and former Bronco Josh Drinkwater did it again in the 28th minute, raking a 40–20 that curled just over the 20 as Alex Walker vainly tried to keep the ball in play.
On the last tackle, Morgan Smith – another former Bronco – drilled a grubber towards the right corner and Ethan Ryan dived onto the loose ball for a try. Drinkwater converted from close to the touchline to level matters. The next possession ended with desperate London defending as an Oldham last-tackle play saw two kicks and four offloads.
Drinkwater kicked his second 40–20 in six minutes to set up an Oldham set of six from the London time. On the first tackle, however, London were penalised for not being back 10 yards, normally punished by a repeat set, but this was set-piece start, so it was a full penalty and Oldham had such respect for the Broncos’ rearguard that they elected to take the two points on offer and Drinkwater made no mistake. It proved to be the difference between the teams.
A third penalty for a late Oldham hit actually penalised London because Adebiye took Marcus Stock’s pass and made 40 metres downfield. Instead of being inside the Oldham 20, London kicked for touch from their own 40. The Broncos did make the visitors pay for this indiscretion because Lewis Bienik forced his way to the line and grounded the ball on the whitewash. Moments after the half-time hooter sounded, Smith added the extras to give London a four-point advantage at the interval.
The second half was pretty much one-way traffic. Walker caught a bomb and was hit in the air by a challenge from Ben Davies, but he was ruled to have been challenging for the ball, so it was a knock-on against the skipper. Davies left the field for a head injury assessment, much to his anger, and his replacement, George Hirst nearly scored with his first touch, but a gang tackle forced him over the sideline by the corner flag.
Oldham’s next attack ended with a knock-on five metres from the London line, but the pressure was incessant and after two penalties against the Broncos to keep the Roughyeds in possession, the line was finally breached, Jay Chapelhow crashing over from close range.
London’s response was instant. After forcing Oldham to kick, the Broncos moved downfield and a delayed pass from O’Beirne invited Adebiyi to burst through the line and charge behind the posts for his second try, which Smith converted to restore the four-point lead. It would be the only time in the second period London attacked the Oldham line from inside the opposition half.
The story of the second half resumed: Oldham camped inside the London half, normally inside the 20 and the defence stopping them. When the Broncos lost the ball bringing it away from their line, in the 65th minute, the Roughyeds had a scrum on the London 10-metre line. The ball was spread quickly from right to left and Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e had just enough room to touch down in the corner. Drinkwater’s boot, the difference between the two teams, did the rest, his conversion dropping centimetres behind the crossbar.
Ryan Brierley almost added to the Oldham lead, but two tacklers were able to ensure he could not ground the ball. The Broncos were finally able to get some possession and another storming run from Adebiyi ended with the second-rower suffering what looked like a neck or head injury. As he struggled to get to his feet, he lost the ball and a knock on was ruled against him. In the Australian NRL earlier in the weekend, a similar injury to a ball carrier and a dropped ball saw play resume with a scrum to the attack.
Adebiyi left the game for a head injury assessment a minute or two later after a magnificent 74 minutes for the Broncos. Walker and Luke Polselli did fashion a half-break, but London got no closer than 30 metres from the Oldham line as the Roughyeds were able to hold on for two competition points.
London’s heroic defending deserved something more than a narrow loss but it was not to be.
London Broncos: 1 Alex Walker, 33 Jack Smith, 3 Ethan Natoli, 2 Chris Hellec, 5 Liam Tindall, 6 Luke Polselli, 7 Connor O’Beirne, 8 Huw Worthington, 9 Curtis Davies, 14 Kobe Rugless, 18 Ben Hursey-Hord, 12 Sadiq Adebiyi, 13 Marcus Stock. Replacements: 10 Lewis Bienik, 16 Max Wood, 22 Matt Ross, 34 Tommy Porter. 18th man: 26 Charlie Robson.
Tries: Adebiyi 15, 58, Bienik 40
Goals: Smith 3/3
OLDHAM RLFC: 1 Ryan Brierley, 31 Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e, 24 Ben O’Keefe, 28 Ethan Ryan, 38 Ben Davies, 42 Morgan Smith, 23 Josh Drinkwater, 12 Jack Ormondroyd, 9 Matty Wildie, 10 Owen Farnworth, 11 Matty Ashurst, 17 Elijah Taylor, 13 Adam Milner. Replacements: 14 Jay Chapelhow, 25 Tom Whitehead, 30 George Hirst, 40 Eloi Pelisser. 18th man: 2 Kieran Dixon,
Tries: Ryan 29, Chapelhow 53, Laulu-Togaga’e 65
Goals: Drinkwater 4/4
Referee: Tara Jones
HT: 12–8
Penalty awarded count: 3–8
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