Mike Eccles is pleased to see London Broncos’ academy graduates and senior players “working in harmony” ahead of this weekend’s Betfred Championship visit to Dewsbury.
The Broncos return to Yorkshire on Sunday (3pm) after delivering a performance filled with positives against promotion hopefuls York City Knights last week, which ended in an agonising 36-34 reverse.
Eccles included nine academy graduates on the Broncos’ team sheet against York and praised the togetherness of the squad’s younger players and more experienced members.
Ahead of kick-off, Dewsbury sit one place above the Broncos in the Championship table. But interim head coach Eccles said both teams’ respective positions are an irrelevance concerning pre-match preparations.
“We’re not placing any additional pressure on the boys, to do so would be a mistake,” said Eccles. “This weekend is just another important fixture for the squad, and we will prepare for it professionally just as we do when facing any other team.
“Our goal is to make improvements to our performances week-on-week and grow stronger as the season goes on. We can take great confidence from the things we did right against York last weekend and look to apply those positive traits against Dewsbury.
“We scored some fantastic tries and played with real freedom. More than anything, I could see the players were enjoying themselves which is key for any coach to achieve.
“We competed hard in the high-effort areas of the game and the determination and execution of our academy graduates was really encouraging.
“Equally, our senior players really led from the front and played an important role in getting the best out of our younger players. We’ve only just passed the half-way point of this season, there is still a lot of hard work to put in and points to record.”
Kick-off at the Tetley’s Stadium on Sunday is at 3pm. Supporters unable to travel to Dewsbury can follow live updates of the game via @LondonBroncosRL on Twitter.
INJURY LATEST
Eccles also issued an update concerning the latest injury news in the Broncos camp.
Hooker Calum Gahan is expected to be out for the remainder of the season with a chest injury while half back Rian Horsman is also expected to be unavailable in 2022 after picking up a knee injury.
Jack Howorth meanwhile is nearing a return after recovering from an ankle knock and is expected to be back on the field in mid-July.