MIKE ECCLES: PROGRAMME NOTES
Jake Watson • 9 March 2024
Our tough luck continued last weekend, losing Sid in the team run and Dean after barely a minute of the match. Then to lose the game with what would have likely been our last defensive effort of the match was difficult to take. But the pride in the shirt and out right defiance to not let the setbacks of losing Sid and Dean affect us and to take the game to Hull FC on their own patch like we did showed tremendous character. I thought our skill level was tremendous too. Against Saints our execution was poor and against Catalans our kicking game and inability to execute our game plan was off point. Against Hull FC though we absolutely nailed our kicking game and showed fantastic skill and execution to take our opportunities. A sure sign that the team is learning and developing week on week. We will look for further improvement and progress in other areas today against a very good Wigan side. It's important that we keep progressing and keep the focus on ourselves as opposed to Wigan as we continue to learn and develop into a Super League side.
Moving on to this weekend, how better could we back up our best attendance for over a decade against Catalans than to welcome the reigning Super Leage and World Club Champions here at the Cherry Red Records stadium? Another incredibly exciting opportunity for us as a club to both acknowledge how far we've come in such a short space of time, but also to display to rugby league world the buzz around the club right now and the bright future ahead.
Regarding the team, today we welcome back Alex walker onto the bench after a sustained period in the rehab room. I'm sure you're as happy to see him back as I am. Sid is still not quite right following an impact to his quad in the Catalans game but will certainly be back in contention next week. Dean has the mandatory 12 day shut down after a failed HIA but will be back next week for Warrington.
Enjoy the game and get behind the boys as we take on the world's best.
Thanks always for your support,
Mike


TEAM NEWS: Widnes Vikings vs London Broncos Here is your starting line up for this afternoon’s final league game of the season away at Widnes Vikings. Jensen Monk comes in to start at prop as Adebiyi and Hursey-Hord drop out of the squad following injuries last weekend. Rob Oakley is in the matchday squad and is joined on the interchanges with Rugless, Porter and Ross. Today Lewis Bienek makes his 150th appearance and Will Lovell his 250th - and also his 198th for the club moving him into 2nd all time. #WeAreLondon

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.
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