Two years ago this week, London Broncos were relegated from Super League, their ground had flooded and their owner had walked away after spending £24m of his private fortune. The club were soon asking supporters to save them. They did – and fans wearing last year’s away jersey listing those saviours’ names (including mine) across their chests were among the proudest people in the ground on Sunday when London thrashed Doncaster 78-6 in the Championship Grand Final.
London Broncos have completed a second-tier treble this season but their fans cannot celebrate promotion to Super League yet. Instead they will spend this week waiting to see if they have made the grade – promotion being decided not only by gradings based on both on-field and off-field criteria but also the key decision on whether to expand to 15 teams. Whether they reach the top flight or not, they have come a long way in the past 12 months.
A year ago the Broncos were still on the brink of folding, looking unlikely to survive the umpteenth financial crisis of their 46-year history. But the Australian investors Grant Wechsel and Darren Lockyer stepped in and have pushed the club on a steep upward curve. The dice have rarely rolled in their favour in recent years.
They were relegated on points difference in 2019. The team that replaced them in the top flight, Toronto, collapsed during the pandemic when London would probably have survived. And they were condemned to the drop before the 2024 season even began after the league introduced the IMG grading system.
Championship winners usually go up. With the exception of the pandemic-hit season in 2020 (when Leigh were chosen to replace Toronto), the team that have won the Championship have replaced the bottom side in Super League. That’s definitely not happening this winter though: Bradford are not going down despite finishing last in the top flight.
The game at the Cherry Red Records Stadium on Sunday was a snapshot of what the future could be like for London. Fans streamed off the train an hour before kick-off; teenagers draped personalised Broncos flags over their shoulders; there were queues at busy bars that are usually closed; and fans from decades ago rocked up in old Broncos jerseys. These spectators might not return in such numbers for a night game in March but the club’s new owners realise cheap tickets, unmatched access, a winning team and fun times are what draw sports fans in London.
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