WHO HAS PLAYED FOR BOTH: London Broncos and Featherstone Rovers
Jake Watson • 22 February 2025
WHO HAS PLAYED FOR BOTH: London Broncos and Featherstone Rovers
London Broncos have enjoyed many tough encounters with Championship rivals Featherstone Rovers over the years and that rivalry will be renewed on Sunday as the two sides meet at The Cherry Red Records Stadium.
Jordan Williams will return to Wimbledon for the first time as an opposing player this weekend after graduating from the Broncos academy and going on to play 85 times.
But who else has played for both? We have taken a look at SOME of those to have done it. Can you name any more?
Wellington Albert
The popular PNG prop was at Featherstone for the 2024 season after two seasons in London. Albert played 42 times for Broncos in Wimbledon and quickly became a fans favourite, featuring in the run which saw the club promoted back to Super League. The 30-year-old also had two loan spells at Featherstone whilst at Leeds before coming to London in 2022.
Ikram Butt
Ikram is a real legend of the sport having become the first british asian to play for England in either codes of rugby after playing for England in 1995 whilst representing Featherstone Rovers. Butt was born in Leeds and came through at his hometown club of the Rhinos but it was at Featherstone where he would really make his mark in the game playing 168 times. He would then leave in 1995 to join London Broncos before moves to Huddersfield and Hunslet at the end of his career.
Dean Parata
We welcome Dean back to The Cherry Red Records Stadium as our special guest this afternoon. The Aussie born Italian had three stellar years in London as a vice captain, promotion winner and Championship Player of The Year. Prior to coming to Wimbledon Parata played for Barrow, Toulouse and Featherstone. Parata made the decision to retire at the end of last season but will receive a warm welcome in the Legends Lounge on Sunday.
Ben Hellewell
Hellewell enjoyed a fine career that took him to a number of professional rugby league clubs but it was probably both Broncos and Featherstone where he is best remembered. Starting out at Warrington he didn’t make a first team appearance but after a couple of loan spells it was Featherstone where Hellewell would make his mark permanently. However after a year it was a move to London and this time over 100 appearances spanning across 4 years was the Bradford born man’s longest spell at any club. After leaving London in 2019 Hellewell would eventually return to Featherstone for another season in 2022.
Chris Hankinson
A player who is currently playing in Super League with Salford Red Devils but has successfully played for both Broncos and Featherstone. Although it was just a short loan spell in London for Hankinson, he left a good impression with 6 tries and 120 points in just 11 games. A year in France with Toulouse followed a move to Featherstone Rovers and despite winning the league leaders shield in 2023, Hankinson and Rovers would be beaten by the Broncos in the play-off semi finals.
Morgan Smith
We are likely to face Smith this season with the Featherstone born man now playing for Craig Lingard’s Sheffield Eagles. After coming through at Warrington, Smith came to London in 2019 playing in both Super League and Championship. Smith’s best season came in the 2022 season whilst at Featherstone where he would score 22 tries in 30 games.
INTERVIEW: Kobe Rugless first London Broncos interview An excited Kobe Rugless has said he can't wait to pull on a Broncos jersey for the first time after joining the club this week. The Australian has joined from Hunslet RLFC and follows in the footsteps of his Dad Troy Rugless who played for London Crusaders in 1994. Watch the full interview with Kobe below and keep scrolling for tickets to our remaining home league games.
KOBE RUGLESS JOINS LONDON BRONCOS London Broncos are delighted to announce that Kobe Rugless has joined the club from Hunslet RLFC. The 24-year-old half-back joins Mike Eccles side after impressing for the South Yorkshire side in the Championship this season.
GAMEWEEK: York Knights vs London Broncos It's an away trip to the league leaders this week for London Broncos as they go up north to take on York Knights at the LNR. Mark Applegarth's side lead the Championship by two points over this weekend's opponents Toulouse and also Bradford. The leaders have won 15 games on the bounce so provide a huge task for Mike Eccles side who are looking to get back to winning ways after a narrow defeat to Toulouse at the weekend. Tickets are available to buy for the game from HERE!!
HIGHLIGHTS: London Broncos vs Toulouse Olympique You can now watch back extended highlights of the 2025 Championship fixture between London Broncos and Toulouse Olympique at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. Keep scrolling to get tickets for our final two home league games.
LONDON BRONCOS V TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE (by David Ballheimer) London Broncos (14) 18, Toulouse Olympique (6) 24 London Broncos suffered their most heart-breaking defeat of the season after outplaying Toulouse Olympique Treiziste for most of the first 65 minutes but succumbing to three tries in six final-quarter minutes. Mike Eccles’ 100th match in charge of the Broncos was made tougher by an injury crisis which saw three players gut it out despite having knocks that should have left them on the sideline. It meant a first-ever rugby league match for newly signed winger Charlie Robson. The Broncos took the lead in the seventh minute. Eschewing a kick on the last play, the ball was fed out to the left, with Alex Walker chiming into the line to create a numerical mismatch, and when Liam Tindall received the pass, he was quick enough to dive in the corner.
POST-MATCH: Mike Eccles post Toulouse defeat Get the thoughts of London Broncos head coach Mike Eccles following the narrow 18-24 defeat to Toulouse Olympique at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. Liam Tindall scored his 10th and 11th tries of the season and Jack Smith converted one and kicked 4 from 5 penalties. Watch the full interview with Mike below. #WeAreLondon
TEAM NEWS: London Broncos vs Toulouse Olympique Mike Eccles has named his starting line-up for this afternoon's game with Toulouse Olympique. Charlie Robson comes in to make his debut as Jack Smith moves into centre replacing Aaron Small. #WeAreLondon
MATCH PREVIEW: London Broncos vs Toulouse Olympique After the win over Barrow Raiders at the weekend, London Broncos are back at The Cherry Red Records again on Sunday as they welcome Toulouse Olympique to the capital. The two sides met back in June in a tightly contested game in Toulouse with the French side running out narrow winners. Take a look through this week’s Match Preview as we give you all the key information you need ahead of kick-off. SQUAD INFO Mike Eccles has named his 21-man squad for Sunday's fixture with Toulouse Olympique at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. Webster-Mansfield & Polselli remain unavailable through injury so returning to the 21 is Jensen Monk and Ted Davidson.
MATCH PREVIEW: Mike Eccles ahead of Toulouse visit It's a landmark weekend for Mike Eccles as he takes charge of his 100th London Broncos game. "It's been a pleasure and it's been 13 years now...on to the next 13!" Watch the full interview below as we recap the win from last week and provide injury updates on the squad.
Matchday Guide: Toulouse Olympique We are excited to be able to share the matchday guide with you for our match on Saturday to ensure you have the best possible experience backing the Broncos against Toulouse Olympique. Important times to note: 11:00- Gates open. 11:00 – Hospitality opens 13:00- London Broncos vs Toulouse KO CIRCA 13:40- London Broncos vs Toulouse HT CIRCA 14:35- London Broncos vs Toulouse FT 15:30 – Hospitality Last Orders 16:00 – Hospitality Closes
