London Broncos moved to within one victory of completing a treble after defeating Oldham RLFC 74–8. The Broncos, who had already won the League Leaders’ Shield and 1895 Cup, scored 14 tries in the victory.
London opened the scoring on their second possession after receiving a repeat set on the penultimate tackle. Two tackles later, Sam Davis, Siliva Havili and Dean Hawkins combined to create space for Jimmy Meadows, who crossed to score. Meadows converted his own try.
The Broncos scored again in the eighth minute. Hawkins’ kick towards the right wing was contested by Jake Bibby and Neil Tchamambe before the ball moved towards Jack Walker. Brandon Webster-Mansfield reached the ball first and crossed to score. Meadows was unable to convert.
Oldham created three opportunities during the opening 15 minutes but were unable to complete the attacking sets, with two passes ruled forward and another pass going into touch. London then extended their lead when Jack Croft delayed his pass to allow Gairo Voro to join the attack. Walker tackled Voro, but the half-back passed to Robert Mathias, who crossed to score. Meadows converted.
Oldham then lost possession attempting to deal with a Hawkins chip. Elliot Wallis collected the ball from Ben Davies and ran through two tackles before scoring under the posts. Meadows converted.
Three tackles into London’s next possession, Connor O’Beirne offloaded to Luke Smith, who ran through to score. Meadows converted to make it 28–0 in the 24th minute.
London scored again on their following possession. O’Beirne passed to Reagan Campbell-Gillard, who crossed for the try. Meadows converted.
London then lost possession when Croft was unable to collect a pass from Voro. Oldham regained possession in London territory but did not score from the set.
London regained the ball and moved downfield, with O’Beirne passing to Hawkins. Hawkins sent Tchamambe towards the right corner before the winger passed back inside, allowing Hawkins to run behind the posts. Meadows converted.
Oldham appeared to have scored in the 35th minute when Bibby attempted to round Tchamambe, but was forced into touch.
Lewis Bienek then had a try disallowed for obstruction. Oldham’s Josh Drinkwater was subsequently sin-binned for dissent.
London had another try ruled out before half-time when Bienek’s pass to Meadows was ruled forward.
London opened the second-half scoring when Finley Glare, O’Beirne, Voro and Meadows combined to move the ball from right to left, allowing Mathias to cross in the corner. Meadows was unable to convert.
Two minutes later, Voro scored after breaking through the Oldham defence. Meadows converted to make it 44–0.
Oldham then had a spell of possession in London territory, during which Morgan Smith scored in the corner after grounding the ball close to the touchline while being tackled. Smith was unable to convert.
London responded by forcing a scrum near the Oldham line. With the defence covering Voro, the Broncos moved the ball in the opposite direction and Wallis crossed in the corner. Meadows was unable to convert, leaving London 50 points ahead after an hour.
In the 62nd minute, Adam Milner attempted to break between two defenders but lost possession over the line after Meadows made contact with him.
Morea Morea was introduced as a replacement for Meadows.
Drinkwater was sin-binned for a second time, this time for a high tackle on Smith.
Morea then attempted to create an opportunity with a pass to Tchamambe, but the pass was ruled forward.
Tchamambe scored in the 68th minute after receiving a long pass from Hawkins and crossing in the right corner. Voro converted.
Oldham lost possession from the restart and London moved towards the try-line. Glare made a 50-metre run before being tackled. Four tackles later, Emarly Bitungane crossed from close range. Voro converted.
In the 75th minute, Drinkwater returned from the sin-bin and combined with Ben O’Keefe to create an opportunity for Bibby, who scored in the corner. Morgan Smith was unable to convert.
London added two further tries before the final hooter. Voro passed to Bitungane, who ran 30 metres to score his second try of the match. Voro was unable to convert.
London then moved 70 metres upfield, with Morea and Webster-Mansfield making ground before Tchamambe crossed for his second try of the match. Voro was again unable to convert.
The final score was London Broncos 74–8 Oldham RLFC.
London Broncos: 18 Jimmy Meadows, 2 Elliot Wallis, 3 Robert Mathias, 20 Brandon Webster-Mansfield, 26 Neil Tchamambe, 23 Gairo Voro, 7 Dean Hawkins, 8 Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 9 Sam Davis, 10 Emarly Bitungane, 11 Luke Smith, 12 Jack Croft, 13 Siliva Havili. Replacements: 1 Morea Morea, 6 Connor O’Beirne, 14 Finley Glare, 24 Lewis Bienek. 18th man: 19 Ben Hursey-Hord.
Tries: Meadows (3), Webster-Mansfield (8), Mathias (15, 42), Wallis (20, 56), Smith (23), Campbell-Gillard (26), Hawkins (33), Voro (44), Tchamambe (68, 80), Bitungane (71, 78)
Goals: Meadows 7/10, Voro 2/4
DG: None
Sin-bin: None
Oldham RLFC: 1 Jack Walker, 21 Tom Nisbet, 4 Ben Davies, 3 Ben O’Keefe, 5 Jake Bibby, 6 Morgan Smith, 23 Josh Drinkwater, 26 Brad Day, 9 Matty Wildie, 17 Lukas Mason, 11 Matty Ashurst, 27 Bayley Liu, 13 Adam Milner. Replacements: 12 Ryan Lannon, 14 Cole Geyer, 15 Ted Chapelhow, 22 Noah High. 18th man: 29 Luke Forber.
Tries: Smith (52), Bibby (74)
Goals: Smith 0/2
DG: None
Sin-bin: Drinkwater (38, dissent, 64 high tackle)
Match report by David Ballheimer
