MATCH PREVIEW: London Broncos vs Batley Bulldogs
Jake Watson • 10 April 2025
MATCH PREVIEW: London Broncos vs Batley Bulldogs
London Broncos captain Will Lovell has previewed the Championship game on Saturday with Batley Bulldogs the visitors to The Cherry Red Records.
After the defeat to Featherstone Rovers in the 1895 Cup quarter-final last time out the group will be looking to bounce back and maintain the winning record at home in the league this season.
The weekend’s visitors come into the game directly under Broncos in the Championship table with the sides 9th and 10th respectively. Batley come into this weekend off the back of consecutive league defeats to Halifax Panthers and York Knights.
Will Lovell has played every minute in the Championship so far this season as he continues to show incredible durability and he says he is looking forward to being back at SW17 on Saturday.
Watch the full interview with Will below.
ONE TO WATCH - ELLIOT KEAR
London Broncos fans will need little introduction to the Welsh back Elliot Kear after playing for London Broncos 150 times between 2015-19.
Now aged 36 the Welshman is still very much playing and now wearing the colours of Batley Bulldogs after joining at the start of the 2023 season.
Comfortable in a variety of positions Kear is still a regular try scorer and will be one player in particular that the Broncos must keep an eye on.
THE STATS
LONDON BRONCOS v BATLEY BULLDOGS
Last ten meetings:
Batley 18, London Broncos 20 (ChR16, 25/6/23)
London Broncos 20, Batley 30 (ChR1, 5/2/23)
London Broncos 30, Batley 20 (ChR24, 21/8/22)
Batley 28, London Broncos 12 (ChR12, 22/5/22)
Batley 6, London Broncos 40 (ChR6, 15/5/21)
Batley 16, London Broncos 38 (ChR19, 1/7/18)
London Broncos 68, Batley 12 (ChR6, 11/3/18)
(at Trailfinders Sports Ground, Ealing)
London Broncos 58, Batley 4 (ChR23, 23/7/17)
(at Trailfinders Sports Ground, Ealing)
Batley 4, London Broncos 42 (ChR11, 17/4/17)
London Broncos 76, Batley 16 (S8Q-R2, 14/8/16)
(at Trailfinders Sports Ground, Ealing)
ALEX WALKER
needs two tries to reach 100 for his career.
- 81 for London Broncos (2014-2019, 2022-2025)
- 7 for Featherstone Rovers (2021, loan)
- 2 for Wakefield Trinity (2020-2021)
- 6 for London Skolars (2016, dual-registration)
- 2 for Scotland (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021-2022)
(0 for Hemel Stags, 2016, loan)
You can watch highlights of the victory against Batley, which was 9 years ago this week, on the link below.
Tickets for the game on Saturday are still available to buy - and you can do that HERE!
Prices are as follows;
Adult - £20
Concession - £15
Kids - £5
OR if you head over to the "REELS" section of the website you can access half-price adult tickets for the game this weekend.
Tickets for the "Broncos Bar" are also still available - watch the game from the best seat in the house with your own private bar
HERE!
NEXT HOME GAME! Tickets on sale. On Saturday, May 3rd we return to action at The Cherry Red Records Stadium as we welcome York Knights to SW17. Mike Eccles' side will be looking to return to winning ways on home soil after a heartbreaking last minute defeat to Batley in the previous home fixture. Tickets for the game are priced at; Broncos Bar - £35 Adult - £20 Concession - £15 Kids - £5 BUY FROM HERE! We have welcomed back Dean Parata and Tony Rea so far this season into the 'Legends Lounge' and we will soon announce who is returning for the upcoming game against York. You can book your spot in the 'Legends Lounge' for all games this season from this LINK! #WeAreLondon
TUESDAY TRIVIA REVEAL! On social media this afternoon we gave we three pictures and three clues to today's former Bronco. The first clue was; 1. Here I am celebrating scoring a try against the team I would later join. 2. Here I am being helped off the field by Mike Eccles after picking up an injury. 3. Here I am scoring against Featherstone Rovers Keep scrolling for the answer...
London Broncos announce partnership with ‘Tickets for Good’. London Broncos are delighted to announce a continued partnership with ‘Tickets for Good’ for the 2025 season as we aim to make Rugby League more accessible to communities in the London area. The aim of ‘Ticket for Good’ reads; “We know how important live events are to society and culture, but we also know they can be difficult to attend - every year tickets are getting more expensive and harder to find. We are here to break down that barrier, by giving free and discounted live event tickets to the NHS and charity workers. “To achieve our goal, we have partnered with some of the UK’s best live event companies to source our tickets, helping them develop their audiences and increase their social impact through our members. “We want to expand our work to cover more and more sectors to increase event attendance for all.”
Over 100 young players attended the London Broncos Talent Pathway Development Training sessions last week. Booking is NOW OPEN for the next sessions in May!
GAMEWEEK: Barrow Raiders vs London Broncos It is a quick turnaround this week for the London Broncos as we are back in action on Good Friday with a trip up to face Barrow Raiders in the Championship. Mike Eccles side will be looking to bounce back after a last gasp defeat to Batley Bulldogs at the weekend meanwhile we also go in search of the first win on the road this season. Tickets for this game can be bought from this LINK ! Meanwhile, tickets for our NEXT HOME GAME vs York Knights on May 3rd can be purchased HERE! #WeAreLondon
FULL MATCH REPLAY: London Broncos vs Batley Bulldogs
LONDON BRONCOS V BATLEY BULLDOGS (by David Ballheimer) London Broncos (6) 14, Batley Bulldogs (6) 16 London Broncos suffered the agony of conceding a last-play try to lose to the Batley Bulldogs. The truth is that London paid the penalty for dominating large parts of the game, especially the early part of the second half, but wasted great attacking positions with sloppy passes, poor run options or ineffective kicks. This is not the Bulldogs’ first two-point win over the Broncos, not even the first on 12 April because, 44 years ago – my first ever away game as a fan – the Londoners lost 10–8 to the Gallant Youths at Mount Pleasant. There were five tries at the Cherry Red, four more than I witnessed a week before Easter 1981.
HIGHLIGHTS: London Broncos 14-16 Batley Bulldogs
MATCH GALLERY: London Broncos 14-16 Batley Bulldogs London Broncos went down to an agonising last minute defeat to Batley Bulldogs in a bruising encounter at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. Will Lovell and Lewis Bienek scored tries either side of half-time before Chris Hellec kicked a late penalty which appeared to have won the game for the Broncos but it wasn't to be. You can take a look back at some of the best images from the game below. #WeAreLondon
TEAM NEWS: London Broncos vs Batley Bulldogs Here is your starting line-up for this afternoon’s Round 6 Championship fixture against Batley Bulldogs at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. There are two changes from the side that lost to Feathestone in the 1895 Cup last weekend as Ben Hursey-Hord and Lewis Bienek come in the front row with Marcus Stock moving to loose and Huw Worthington being named as an interchange. Academy graduate Jamie Hewson is named as 18th man. #WeAreLondon
