MATCH REPORT: London Broncos vs Widnes Vikings
Jake Watson • 1 June 2025
LONDON BRONCOS V WIDNES VIKINGS (by David Ballheimer)
London Broncos (6) 10, Widnes Vikings (6) 12
London Broncos, for the third time in their last four home games, found themselves on the wrong end of a two-point scoreline. However, Widnes Vikings most definitely deserved to take the points because they dominated both possession and territory, especially the first part of the second half.
All teams suffer injuries and in rugby league, they are a necessary evil. However, what is unequal is the players affected, and London were without winger Liam Tindall, scrum half Connor O’Beirne and prop Lewis Bienek, three key players.
The first quarter was notable for both teams playing almost error-free, albeit safety-first, unimaginative football. Only one set was not completed and, unfortunately, for the Broncos, on the back of a penalty, they lost the ball on the second tackle 10 metres from the Vikings line. Once the game reached the 21st minute, Widnes had their first real opening, but they threw a forward pass.
After this, keeping possession for six tackles seemed to become an almost insurmountable challenge. The Broncos lost the ball on their own 30-metre line after 22 minutes and, two tackles later, ex-London player Rhodri Lloyd was held up in goal. It delayed the inevitable only a few moments as Tom Gilmore’s pass invited Morgan McWhirter to stroll through a hole in the Broncos defence and Gilmore turned four points into six.
It looked as if Widnes were going to score back-to-back tries, but Jake Maizen’s pass towards Rhys Williams was picked up by Jack Smith and the Leeds Rhinos youngster had too much pace for anyone to catch him. Goal-kicking duties fell to Louix Gorman, and he added the extras with a superb conversion from near the touchline.
After half an hour, Widnes started a set on London’s 10-metre line but knocked on after just two tackles. Four minutes later, Ethan Natoli forced an error from AJ Towse deep in Vikings territory, but the Broncos failed to take advantage, losing the ball on the 10. Then, on the stroke of half-time, another excellent scoring opportunity for the Broncos foundered on a knock-on close to the Widnes line.
The second half was, for the first 14 minutes, one-way traffic and it was directed towards the London line. Within three minutes, Williams, a London hero in the late 2010s, appeared to go over for a try in the corner, but the referee ruled out the try and instead awarded a penalty to Widnes for a high tackle. Fans were surprised that neither a penalty try, nor a sin-bin for a professional foul ensued. As the tap for the penalty was taken some metres infield, the assumption had to be was that the high tackle was on the passer and not Williams, who had either stepped on the touchline or didn’t ground the ball cleanly.
Widnes continued to apply pressure and, five minutes later, another former Broncos hero, Matty Fozard threw a short pass to Danny Langtree on a last-tackle play and the second rower went over untouched to make Gilmore’s conversion automatic.
The Broncos’ defending was, it must be said, heroic, but the Vikings lacked a significant cutting edge in attack. Nonetheless, a succession of errors, penalties, repeat sets meant that Widnes needed to make only two tackles in the first 14 minutes of the period (London knocked on two tackles into their only possession). In the 54th minute, Gorman made a superb tackle on Joe Edge and forced the ball loose.
London marched downfield, aided by a penalty, and finished off this possession with a long pass out to the right wing. Smith gathered the ball, cut inside and crossed for his second score. Gorman’s conversion attempt curled towards the uprights and clanged off the right one, bouncing down inside the field. That proved to be the difference in the game.
Mistakes dominated the rest of the game. The Broncos had another superb defensive stand but struggled to take the ball down to the Widnes end. As the minutes ticked by, a couple incidents led to flashpoints. A bad challenge brought down Marcus Stock, who was able to continue after treatment, but his assailant escaped punishment other than a penalty.
In the 74th minute, however, a nasty piece of play from Gavin Bennion resulted in a yellow card, leaving Widnes six minutes to defend with 12 men. Two minutes from the hooter, a pass to Gorman was just too hard for the Hull KR centre to gather cleanly. If he had caught the pass, he would have had an almost clear run to the line. With seconds remaining, Stock was tackled five metres from the Vikings line. He was able to play the ball before the hooter sounded, but London, whose kicking had rather lacked danger, could not score the match-winning try.
London Broncos: 6, Luke Polselli 19 Jack Smith, 14 Louix Gorman, 20 Aaron Small, 34 Connor Barley, 1 Alex Walker, 27 Lennie Ellis, 12 Sadiq Adebiyi, 9 Curtis Davies, 8 Huw Worthington, 11 Will Lovell, 3 Ethan Natoli, 13 Marcus Stock. Replacements: 18 Ben Hursey-Hord, 21 Chris Ball, 22 Matt Ross, 24 Kalum Rathbone. 18th man: 28 Jenson Binks.
Tries: Smith (27, 55)
Goals: Gorman 1/2
Sin-bin: none
Widnes Vikings: 33 Jake Maizen, 29 Rhys Williams, 4 Joe Edge, 17 Max Roberts, 27 AJ Towse, 1 Jack Owens, 7 Tom Gilmore, 8 Dan Murray, 9 Jordan Johnstone, 13 Morgan McWhirter, 11 Rhodri Lloyd, 12 Danny Langtree, 18 Nick Gregson. Replacements: 14 Matty Fozard, 21 Gavin Bennion, 30 Luke Thomas, 31 Adam Lawton. 18th man: 5 Mike Butt.
Tries: McWhirter (23), Langtree (47).
Goals: Gilmore 2/2
Sin-bin: Bennion, 73, serious foul play
Referee: Aaryn Belafonte
HT: 6–6
Penalty awarded count: 5–7
Attendance: TBA
SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: Sheffield Eagles vs London Broncos Mike Eccles has named his squad for this weekend’s Championship trip to Sheffield Eagles. Tommy Porter, who returned to the club this week, is named in the squad and if selected in the matchday squad will make his first senior appearance after progressing through the academy and scholarship. Meanwhile, Chris Hellec returns to the 21. Jack Smith from Leeds Rhinos and Louix Gorman from Hull KR are the dual-registration players available for selection this weekend. #WeAreLondon
Only 100 days to go till England take on the Aussies at Wembley!
Tommy Porter rejoins London Broncos London Broncos are pleased to announce hooker Tommy Porter has rejoined the club on a deal until the end of the season. The 21-year-old came through the Broncos scholarship and academy before moving to Manchester to begin his university degree. Whilst in Manchester, Porter played for Rochdale Hornets, Leigh Leopards and most recently Swinton Lions. Porter played 7 times scoring three tries in League One this season for Paul Wood’s team before leaving the club to move back to London.
Final 4 games for JUST £50 London Broncos are delighted to offer a fantastic ticket offer for the remaining four home league games of the 2025 season. We are excited to return to The Cherry Red Records from August for the remainder of the season when we welcome Barrow Raiders, Toulouse Olympique, Oldham RLFC & Bradford Bulls to SW17. For just £50 you can watch all four of the games which offers a huge saving of £30 from a general admission adult ticket. To take advantage of this fantastic offer - CLICK HERE!! #WeAreLondon
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Chris Ball departs club London Broncos can confirm the club has mutually agreed to release Chris Ball from his contract. The 25-year-old had featured in seven games this season but due to increased commitments outside of rugby is no longer able to fully commit. The club would like to thank Chris for his service and wish him all the best in the future. #WeAreLondon
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Adam will also be presenting the London Rugby League Community Club Awards!
Congratulations to Elmbridge Eagles, Hemel Stags, St Albans Centurions and Brixton Bulls for making it to the Grand Finals.
THROWBACK HIGHLIGHTS: Sheffield Eagles vs London Broncos On this day 12 years ago London Broncos would make the trip to the Don Valley Stadium to take on Sheffield Eagles in the Challenge Cup Quarter-Final. Tries from Michael Witt, Shane Rodney, Jamie Soward, Michael Robertson & Rhodri Lloyd sealed a famous win for Tony Rea's side.
