Blog Layout

ROUND 1 RECAP

James Booth • 17 February 2024

Betfred Super League Round 1 recap- St Helens Saints vs London Broncos

Match Report:


After long last, London’s first trip back to Super League in 2019 was underway! After months of training and getting prepared, the time has finally come for London to put it all to the test against one of the very best sides in England, St Helens Saints.


 The game had a back-and-forth start, with a St Helens penalty for offside which was chipped over the try line and caught by Dean Parata who ran the ball over the dead ball line. There has been a good atmosphere so far, with the Saints fans showing their excitement for the beginning of the new Super League season!


Unfortunately for London, a try had been scored in the 5th for St Helens with a good break by the home side and scored by Lewis Dodd and Mark Percival added the extras to make the score St Helens 6- London 0.


Once more, another penalty for offside by London in the 7th minute and a try scored by Jack Welsby almost straight off the restart of the kick. St Helens 10- London 0.


From the restart, St Helens use their 5 plays and kick to London who reply with a kick over the top by James Meadows, caught by Welsby who was then nailed by Campagnolo.


London seems to have gotten themselves together between the 10th to 15th minute, with a 40-20 kick by James Meadows and London have the ball 5m out of St Helens try line who have started now to look threatening. A chip by Campagnolo was booted out of play by Welsby for a goal line drop-out, but Rhys Kennedy knocks the ball on off the restart and the ball goes back into Saints hands. However, Saints then make a rare unforced error in the 17th minute, passing the ball forwards and it is a London scrum- Saints 10- London 0.


Saints play the ball incorrectly on the floor in the 18th minute and London have the ball inside the Saints 20m line, but Hakim Miloudi drops the ball 2m out from the try line. However, you cannot take anything away from the Saints defence who are looking very strong and are making it incredibly difficult for London to make any kind of ground.


Good spell for London in the 22nd minute but unfortunately Rhys Kennedy’s offload gets knocked on by Jack Campagnolo and Saints have the ball back and converted their opportunity straight into a try, scored by Alex Walmsley for Saints and with Percival adding the extras, Saints lead London 16-0.


As Will Lovell and Rob Butler depart in the 26th minute; they are replaced by Emmanuel Waine & Marcus Stock.


Penalty for London in the 27th minute and Campagnolo kicks it deep to give London the ball well in the Saints half but unfortunately can’t do anything with it as Miloudi knocks the ball on.


A rare Saints mistake in the 30th minute gift London the ball back and another penalty for London sees the Broncos deep in Saints territory but a blocked Meadows kick stops the attack.


A London penalty in the 35th minute gifted St Helens a try to finish the half which was scored by Tommy Makinson- Saints 20 London 0.


Half time- St Helens 20- London 0


The second half begins with the Saints kicking to the Broncos who work hard to make it into the Saints half but had to kick with a good chase down by Adebiyi.


 The Saints use up their 6 attempts in the 42nd minute and London get back the ball with Waine.


 A try for Robbie Storey in the 44th minute who scores off a Kershaw chip through- just the start the Broncos would have been looking for.


Despite London’s strong start to the second half, they are not able to keep up with the Saints who reply with a try of their own in the 50th minute through Daryl Clark and converted by Percival.


London had a penalty in the 51st minute, sent into the Saints half but the Saints have the ball back almost immediately due to an incorrect play of the ball by Adebiyi.


 It has been quite back and forth once more between the 51st to 58th minute, with both teams exchanging blows- London seem to be going toe to toe with Saints now. Positive signs for Mike Eccles and his team.


A good break by Macani in the 60th minute and he chips the ball through, but it got gathered by the Saints before Waine had a chance to run through and grab it.


A penalty in the 63rd minute for a high tackle gives London a great opportunity to score, but a Campagnolo kick though the defence goes dead, and the Saints have the ball back.


 Immediately, London concedes a penalty to give the Saints another opportunity to score and despite reclaiming the ball, a Macani mistake right in front of the Broncos try-line sees the Saints the ball back.


An injury stoppage in the 67th minute as Kershaw comes off injured and Storey looks shaken up.


As the game resumes, In the worst-case scenario, Robbie Storey makes a gesture back to the crowd as they’re shouting at him for time wasting and then Matt Whitley immediately scores, leaving the Saints fans behind the try line in ecstasy. Try was converted by Tommy Makinson.


 London needs to hang on- Another try for Saints as Jonny Lomax scores in the 69th minute, but London needs to see this through and stay strong to the end. Makinson’s conversion attempt hits the post.


A turnover of the ball in the 73rd minute as Marcus Stock gets his hands on it for the Broncos at the halfway line.


75’- The Broncos had a great opportunity squandered in the 75th minute as Miloudi lets go of the ball heading over the try-line.


76’- Yet another try for the Saints in the 76th minute as Matt Whitley scores his second of the night.


Full time- Saints 40- Broncos 4


 

Teams:

 

St Helens:

 

1)   Jack Welsby

2)   Tommy Makinson

23) Konrad Hurrell

4) Mark Percival

3) Waqa Blake

6) Jonny Lomax

7) Lewis Dodd

8) Alex Walmsley

9) Daryl Clark

10) Matty Lees

19) Matt Whitley

16) Curtis Sironen

15) James Bell

 

Interchanges:

11) Sione Mata’utia

18) Jake Wingfield

20) George Delaney

21) Ben Davies

 

Tries- Dodd (5), Welsby (7), Walmsley (22), Makinson (35), Clark (49), Lomax (70), Whitley (67, 76)

Conversions- Percival- 3/5.

Makinson- 1/3

 

 

 London Broncos:

 

20) Oliver Leyland

2) Lee Kershaw

21) Robbie Storey

4) Hakim Miloudi

5) Iliess Macani

6) Jack Campagnolo

7) James Meadows

8) Rob Butler

9) Sam Davis

19) Rhys Kennedy

11) Will Lovell

17) Sadiq Adebiyi

13) Dean Parata

 

Interchanges:

24) Matthew Davies

15) Marcus Stock

16) Jordan Williams

18) Emmanuel Waine

 

Try- Robbie Storey (44)

Conversion- Campagnolo 0/1

 

Half time- 20-0

 

Full time- 40-4

 

Referee- James Vella.

 

Attendance- 14,058




Image gallery:

Match Highlights:

iNTERVIEWS:

hEAR FROM DIRECTOR OF rUGBY & pERFORMANCE, mIKE eCCLES:

Hear from Oli Leyland:

Next game:

by Jake Watson 30 March 2025
LONDON BRONCOS V HUNSLET (by David Ballheimer) London Broncos (16) 26, Hunslet (0) 6 London Broncos produced one of their most dominant defensive performances in recent memory as they beat Hunslet at the Cherry Red Records Stadium on Saturday night. Such was London’s control of the ruck that the Yorkshiremen had only one attack on the London line, and they turned over the ball-carrier before he could ground the ball. At the other end, Hunslet could not cope with the power and strength of London’s ball-carriers. The Broncos made a great start, scoring on their second possession, courtesy of Marcus Stock, who found a way through three tacklers before stretching over the line and grounding the ball. Most of the credit, however, belonged to Huw Worthington, who charged 35 metres downfield returning a kick. Four minutes later, Stock turned provider, turning in a tackle and sending Luke Polselli over. The half-back was able to run behind the posts to make Chris Hellec’s second conversion even easier than his first.
by Jake Watson 30 March 2025
MATCH GALLERY: London Broncos 26-6 Hunslet RLFC You can now look at the best images from a winning afternoon for Mike Eccles Broncos who maintained their 100% home record in the league this season. Tries in the first half Marcus Stock, Luke Polselli & Alex Walker gave the Broncos a 16-0 lead at the break before tries from Aaron Small and Liam Tindall secured the points. RFL President Adam Hills MBE attended the game as our special guest. #WeAreLondon
by Jake Watson 30 March 2025
RFL President Adam Hills MBE visits London Broncos We welcomed Adam Hills to The Cherry Red Records Stadium on Saturday for the visit of Hunslet RLFC as he completes a mini tour of clubs in the Championship and League One. This wasn't Hills first trip to Wimbledon, as a supporter of Warrington Wolves, he attended the Super League game last season and was a big fan of the facilities on offer. You can watch the interview with Adam on the link below as we discuss a wide range of topics! #WeAreLondon
by Jake Watson 29 March 2025
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS: London Broncos 26-6 Hunslet RLFC London Broncos returned to winning ways on Saturday as Mike Eccles side picked up a valuable win over Hunslet at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. The Broncos were forced into making 8 changes from the 18-man squad that lost to Oldham the week before so despite Hunslet's league position, a win was far from a foregone conclusion. You can watch the full match highlights below #WeAreLondon
by Jake Watson 29 March 2025
POST-MATCH INTERVIEW: London Broncos 26-6 Hunslet RLFC Mike Eccles spoke of his delight after his London Broncos side picked up a valuable win over Hunslet at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. The Broncos were forced into making 8 changes from the 18-man squad that lost to Oldham the week before so despite Hunslet's league position, a win was far from a foregone conclusion. You can watch the full interview with Mike Eccles below. TRIES: Stock, Polselli, Walker, Small & Tindall CONVERSIONS: Hellec 3/3 #WeAreLondon
by Jake Watson 29 March 2025
TEAM NEWS: London Broncos vs Hunslet RLFC Mike Eccles has named his starting line-up for this afternoon’s Round 5 clash with Hunslet at The Cherry Red Records. There are 7 changes to the 17 with Alfie Johnson and Tom Whitehead coming straight in to start after joining on dual registration from Warrington Wolves. Huw Worthington comes in for Lewis Bienek, Ben Hursey-Hord comes in for Sadiq Adebiyi and then Matt Ross, Sam Winney and Chris Ball are named as interchanges. Ted Davidson, a former academy player, who rejoined the club during the week is named as 18th man. #WeAreLondon
by Jake Watson 28 March 2025
MATCHDAY GUIDE: London Broncos vs Hunslet RLFC London Broncos take on Hunslet RLFC on Saturday at the later time of 5pm with gates opening at 3pm with supporters encouraged to come along early and head to the pub and enjoy the street food vans inside the stadium.
by Jake Watson 28 March 2025
London Broncos announce dual-registration with Warrington Wolves London Broncos are pleased to announce the club has agreed a dual-registration partnership with Super League club Warrington Wolves for the 2025 season. The announcement further strengthens the links between the two clubs with Wolves youngsters Zac Bardsley-Rowe and Jake Thewlis joining on loan deals at the start of the season. We have now moved to make the relationship stronger by moving to a dual-registration agreement. This will allow the opportunity for players at Warrington to gain some valuable game time in the Championship with Mike Eccles side. With Mike as a highly respected coach we thank Warrington for entrusting us with some of their brightest talents. As part of the announcement both Tom Whitehead and Alfie Johnson will join up with the Broncos and both are available for selection for the next game against Hunslet. This week Jake Thewlis is named in Sam Burgess’ 21-man squad so returns to Warrington. #WeAreLondon
by Jake Watson 27 March 2025
MATCH PREVIEW: London Broncos vs Hunslet RLFC London Broncos return to The Cherry Red Records for the first time in over a month when they welcome Hunslet RLFC to Wimbledon on Saturday. The Broncos will be looking to right the wrongs of last weekend when they lost heavily to Oldham in what was a performance described by Mike Eccles as a “bad day at the office”.
by Jake Watson 27 March 2025
SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: London Broncos vs Hunslet RLFC Mike Eccles has named his squad for this weekend’s Championship action when London Broncos welcome Hunslet to The Cherry Red Records. This week we give a warm welcome to Tom Whitehead and Alfie Johnson who join the squad from Warrington Wolves. Also joining the squad is former Broncos academy centre Ted Davidson. The 22-year-old centre played in the recent Capital Challenge game at the HAC and scored two tries for the London Development team. Ted came through the same system as former team mates Jamie Humphrey’s, Oli Leyland, Ramon Silva and Kai Pearce-Paul. (I can fill in more detail in an interview about him going away etc). Jake Thewlis, Lukas Mason, Kian McDermott and Taylor Kerr return this week to their respective parent clubs. We can also update fans on the fitness of Connor O’Beirne who missed the game with Oldham due to injury. We can confirm that he has sustained a knee injury so is set to be unavailable for selection for the next two months. Finally, Lewis Bienek suffered a head knock in the game at Oldham and failed his HIA so is unavailable for the weekend’s game in line with concussion protocol. #WeAreLondon
More posts
Share by: