Gareth is a top rugby league journalist who has one very exceptional distinction. He chooses to write about matters pertaining to the Championship and League One.
Although this blog is devoted to Featherstone Rovers it is always good to read opinions about matters relevant to us, but not specifically about us. We hope you enjoy reading Gareth's column each week.
Broncos
bucking the trend
THERE
are few better adverts for the quality in the Betfred Championship than London
Broncos’ form in Super League.
Danny
Ward’s
promoted side head into this weekend’s matches with three wins from their
opening seven matches, having been almost universally tipped to finish bottom
in 2019.
Their
list of scalps to date is impressive - a Wakefield side that has finished fifth
for the last two years, champions Wigan, and then on Friday away at Leeds
Rhinos.
It
was that win that illustrated the ability of players in the second tier most -
14 of the Broncos 17 that won at Headingley were playing in the Championship
last season.
It’s a
remarkable statistic - and one that coach Ward was always confident would be
possible.
“On day
one last season when I took over, I told the whole squad they were all capable
of being Super League players,” Ward explained.
“Sticking
with the majority of the side had always been the thinking - one of the reasons
we did so well last year was that the boys had been playing together for a
while.
“I’m
happy with what we’ve got.
“We had
lads that had played Super League regularly before like Jay Pitts and Elliott
Kear, but not for a few years, and some younger blokes who’d played a bit but
not week-in, week-out.
“We’d
seen them stand up in the Qualifiers for an eight week period, but we were
walking into the unknown to an extent.
“Some
have stepped up well and some are still getting to grips with the intensity of
it on a weekly basis, but everyone works at different paces.”
Ward
did make a handful of signings for this season - but most of them also came
from the second tier as they were made before promotion was confirmed.
“We
targeted players that we knew could do a job in the Championship or Super
League - people like Greg Richards and Nathan Mason at Leigh, and Matty Fozard
at Sheffield,” Ward added.
It’s a
policy that has certainly served the Broncos well to date, and might waken
other clubs up to the potential that lies outside the top flight.
Former
Barrow prop Joe Bullock is the latest player to prove that point with his
performances for Wigan.
And
seeing how the likes of Eddie Battye and Fozard have taken to top flight rugby
with the Broncos should encourage every player in the Championship as to what
is possible with the right opportunities.
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