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WHO HAS PLAYED FOR BOTH? London Broncos and Bradford Bulls
Jake Watson • 15 February 2025
WHO HAS PLAYED FOR BOTH? London Broncos and Bradford Bulls
It will be a reunion of such for a few of the opposition players this weekend with James Meadows, Emmanuel Waine, Matty Gee, Guy Armitage and Joe Keyes all wearing the colours of the Bulls in 2025.
None of the current Broncos squad have played for the Bulls but it is a path that has been trodden many times over the years.
Who else would you include in this list?
Henry Paul
Most famous for his time at Wigan and Bradford the New Zealander was a prolific winner and points scorer during his time in England. In the 2001 season Paul would break the record for the most points scored in a single season with 178.
Paul would then successfully cross codes and play for Gloucester for 5 years before returning to League and playing for Harlequins for two seasons.
Iliess Macani
Ranked 8th all-time for London Broncos tries scored the 31-year-old Tottenham born winger spent a year playing for the Bulls in 2017.
That year would see Bradford go into liquidation however Macani would still play 25 times and score 10 tries before leaving for Sheffield Eagles.
Shaun Edwards
A man who needs little introduction to fans of either code but of course most famous for his 400+ games for Wigan before being a key player for the Broncos across two spells at the club.
However, sandwiched between those two spells in London was a year in Bradford for Edwards. In 99 he would return to London as the team came agonisingly close to winning the Challenge Cup.
Luke Gale
A long and illustrious career came to an end at the end of last season for Gale after helping Wakefield secure a place back in Super League. However, you can argue that his career really kickstarted in London, then named Harlequins RL.
Gale spent two years in London scoring nearly 300 points but relegation from Super League saw the Leeds born man make the move to Odsal where he would play for two years before moving on to Castleford.
Paul Sykes
London Broncos highest ever points scorer is another to have played for both teams. The 43-year-old started his career in Bradford before a loan move to London soon turned permanent in 2002 which would see him go on to score 721 points.
Sykes enjoyed 5 years in London before moving back to Bradford in 2008. Now aged 43, Sykes is still playing and will be turning out for Dewsbury Rams once again in 2025.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS: Featherstone 34-6 London Broncos It was a disappointing afternoon for the Broncos as they bowed out of the 1895 Cup to Featherstone Rovers in the quarter-final. You can now watch back the best of the action from Post Office Road below. #WeAreLondon
GAMEWEEK: London Broncos vs Batley Bulldogs London Broncos are back in home action this Saturday when they welcome Batley Bulldogs to The Cherry Red Records looking to maintain their 100% start in the league at home so far this season. We welcome back club legend Tony Rea as our special guest and you will be able to meet him in the 'Legends Lounge' on the day. Tickets for this must be purchased by Tuesday and can be bought from the link below.
MATCH GALLERY: Featherstone Rovers 34-6 London Broncos London Broncos would lose on the road to Featherstone Rovers in the 1895 Cup quarter-final on Sunday April 7th. You can now take a look through some of the best images from the day. #WeAreLondon
MATCH REPORT: Featherstone Rovers 34-6 London Broncos London Broncos bowed out of the 1895 Cup at the quarter finals stage after losing to Featherstone Rovers at Post Office Road. Broncos won the toss and opted to go down the hill in the first half which was a tactic that served us well in the last visit back in 2023. It was by no means a slow start but it was the home side who registered the first points of the afternoon but it wasn’t without controversy as it looked like the officials had missed a forward pass. After play had been allowed to continue Wynne and Aekins combined for the latter to score. Reynolds kicked the extras. Rovers 6-0 Broncos. That try sparked Mike Eccles side into action and in the 15th minute the Broncos moved the ball well out to the left hand side where Liam Tindall found himself in space - who likes nothing more than green grass to run into. The winger ran almost 50 metres and cut inside to evade Reynolds to score a fantastic try. The conversion from Hellec was almost as impressive as he slotted it through the posts from a tight angle.
TEAM NEWS: Featherstone Rovers vs London Broncos Here is your starting line-up for this afternoon's 1895 Cup quarter-final at Featherstone Rovers. Returning to the squad this week is Lewis Bienek after passing his HIA protocols meanwhile Wigan Warriors pair Lukas Mason and Taylor Kerr are also back after missing the win over Hunslet. Sam Davis also goes straight back into the squad after he rejoined the club on dual-registration from Salford Red Devils. Chris Ball plays at centre to start a league game for the first time as Chris Hellec moves to the wing. #WeAreLondon
Mike Eccles previews 1895 Cup quarter-final L ondon Broncos Director of Rugby & Performance Mike Eccles believes Featherstone Rovers still represent one of the most dangerous sides in the Championship despite their poor start to the season. It is cup quarter-final this weekend in the 1895 Cup competition but Rovers are a side that currently sit towards the bottom end of the division that the two respective sides share. Despite Broncos coming into the game after a very solid start to the new season and having already beaten Featherstone this season, Eccles is very wary of the threat that Rovers hold especially as there has been a change in the head coach at Post Office Road since that win on February 23rd at The Cherry Red Records. Watch the full pre-match interview with Mike Eccles below. #WeAreLondon
MATCH PREVIEW: Featherstone Rovers vs London Broncos London Broncos are in cup action this weekend as they take on Featherstone Rovers in the quarter-final of the 1895 Cup away at Post Office Road. With a place at Wembley just two games away both sides will have a focus on reaching the competitions final which is played before the Challenge Cup final. In 2023, the last time Broncos played in this competition, they reached the semi-final losing out to Halifax Panthers. Mike Eccles has named his squad for the weekend and the 20 named sees the return of Lewis Bienek who missed the win over Hunslet after suffering a headknock in the previous game at Oldham. Also returning this weekend is Taylor Kerr and Lukas Mason from Wigan Warriors. Lastly joining the squad this week is Sam Davis. The Broncos academy graduate has joined on dual-registration terms from Salford and we look forward to seeing Sam back in a Broncos shirt.
SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: Featherstone Rovers vs London Broncos Mike Eccles has named his squad for this weekend’s 1895 Cup quarter-final trip to take on Featherstone Rovers at Post Office Road. Returning to the squad is Lewis Bienek after missing out on the win over Hunslet due to HIA protocol. The Wigan Warriors duo of Lukas Mason and Taylor Kerr are also available for selection for Mike Eccles again this weekend. Today we announced another dual-registration agreement, adding Salford Red Devils to our 2025 link with Warrington Wolves. As part of today’s announcement we are delighted to welcome back Sam Davis who signs on dual-registration. Due to the ongoing restrictions in place at Salford, Davis has been unable to feature for Paul Rowley’s side this season. The full squad is available to view below. #WeAreLondon
London Broncos announce dual-registration with Salford Red Devils London Broncos are pleased to announce the club has agreed a dual-registration partnership with Super League club Salford Red Devils for the 2025 season. This latest partnership sees Salford join Warrington Wolves as our dual registration partners. This will allow the opportunity for players at Salford to gain some valuable game time in the Championship with Mike Eccles side. So far we have seen Zac Bardsley Rowe, Jake Thewlis, Alfie Johnson and Tom Whitehead all gain valuable experience as part of the link with Warrington Wolves.
MATCH PREVIEW: Alex Walker previews 1895 Cup Quarter-Final London Broncos are in cup action this weekend as they head to Featherstone Rovers in the quarter-final stages of the competition. With the Broncos just two wins away from a place at Wembley with the game acting as a support for the Challenge Cup final, both sides will begin to dream of reaching the showpiece event. The last time the Broncos played in this competition back in 2023 they reached the semi-finals however they lost out to Halifax who would go on to lose to Wakefield in the final. Alex Walker was part of that side and was also part of the team that won at Featherstone the last time the Broncos played at Post Office Road. That win was in the play-off semi final where Broncos would go on to win the grand final in Toulouse and return to Super League. To watch the full match preview with Alex Walker click below.
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