WHO HAS PLAYED FOR BOTH: Oldham RLFC & London Broncos
Jake Watson • 21 March 2025
WHO HAS PLAYED FOR BOTH: Oldham RLFC & London Broncos
London Broncos renew rivalries in league action with Oldham for the first time since 2021 on Sunday and it is a fixture that has been relatively sporadic in recent years due to playing in different divisions. In fact the sides have met just 10 times since 1997!
In the Oldham team this season is a couple of former Broncos in Keiran Dixon and Josh Drinkwater but who else has played for both sides? We have picked out some notable players below and if you scroll to the bottom there are some extra ones picked out.
Hussein M’Barki, winger, 150 games for London (2 spells 1981–91), 59 games for Oldham, 1985–87
What better place to start than with a London Broncos Hall of Famer Hussein M’Barki. The winger is 8th all time for appearances and tied 6th for tries scored and was the first ever player inducted into the clubs Hall of Fame in 2014. The Moroccan was a prolific scorer during his two spells with the club but never quite replicated the same success at his other clubs. M’Barki played for Oldham for two years between 1985 and 87 playing 60 times scoring 12 tries.
Titus Gwaze, prop, 18 for Oldham 2019–20, 20 for London 2021
A player that we will likely come up against this season as he is signed with Sheffield Eagles but the 25-year-old prop has also played for both London and Oldham. The Zimbabwean came through the system at Wakefield where he would make his Super League debut but during his time with the club he would go on loan to Oldham twice. Gwaze would spend one season in London in 2021 where he would play 20 times and score three tries during the Championship season.
Josh Drinkwater, SH, London 2014, currently with Oldham
The Australian was a big name recruit for Oldham in the off-season but it was in fact London where he would play on English soil for the first time. Brought to London in 2014 from St George Illawarra Dragons, Drinkwater would enjoy a good year playing 25 times and scoring 136 points. After the solitary season Drinkwater would move back to Australian briefly with West Tigers before returning to England with Leigh Centurions. Prior to moving to Oldham ahead of this season he has also played for Catalans, Hull KR and Warrington.
Kieran Dixon, Fullback, 136 games for London Broncos across two spells, currently with Oldham
Hackney born Dixon is a product of the clubs academy and ranks third all time for tries scored with 97 and 5th for goals with 190. Dixon would play for Broncos across two spells before leaving to join York in 2021. This followed a nomadic spell in his career moving from York to Leigh with a couple of loan spells before settling at Widnes where he would stay for 18 months. The 32-year-old joined then League One Oldham at the back end of the 2024 season to help secure promotion and remains a key part of Sean Long’s side.
Other players to have played for both; Adrian Alexander, Richard Blackman, James Greenwood, Pat Moran, Darren Shaw, Paul Stevens and Harvey Makin
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
The Best of North London vs the Best of South London do battle in Brentwood
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.
Join us on 23 Oct for a great night including Community Club Awards & Foundation Fundraising!
Awards presented at the Broncos by Rugby League Legend Darren Lockyer
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
