Page 38 - Rugby League World (February 2020)

LONDON BRONCOS

RLW PREDICTS: 1st

In pre-season, coaches like to put their after being Toulouse’s key strike forward.
teams in different scenarios to test their Josh Walters is a Super League Grand Final
adaptability to adversity. winner but has played at this level for years
For London, 2020 will be entirely different too. They will bring the qualities needed at
from those of last year. this level, and the hope is that those that
On their admirable Super League journey have spent more time at a higher level will
the Broncos were the hunters, the be able to add that sprinkling of quality off
fearless, the team with nothing to lose. the back of their work.
But this year is different. They are the Another challenge that faces London is
hunted, they are the team everyone their ability to gel. The heart of last year’s
wants to beat. With that comes mental team has gone and been replaced by more
challenges they didn’t face last year. hungry players looking for an opportunity.
Some thrive under it, some do not. Ward would have preferred to keep his
There are technical changes too, of squad intact but at the same time it
course. Super League is based on allows him to nurture new players and
structure and pace. The Championship is improve them like he has done before. But
based more on brute force and is more high turnovers have failed badly before,
ad-hoc. it’s a risk they’ll be aware of.
For the majority of Danny Ward’s But even with all these obstacles, it’s
squad, they are either experiencing hard to see them preventing the Broncos
the Championship for the first time or from making the five. So long as they’re
returning after a year finding their feet in there when it matters, they’ll be a very real
Super League. Now they have to re-adapt threat, especially if they can earn home
or learn quickly. advantage.
Ward has perhaps countered that by The Championship will be trickier for
bringing in some seasoned Championship London than many will expect, but with
campaigners. The acquisition of Rhys renewed hunger and a renewed appetite
Curran should prove to be one of the best for Super League, motivation won’t be
in the competition, with the Aussie arriving hard to come by.
2020 SQUAD: STAR PLAYER COACH

1 Olly Ashall-Bott
2 Tuoyo Egodo
3 Guy Armitage
4 Will Lovell
5 Kieran Dixon
6 Cory Aston
7 Morgan Smith
8 Eddie Battye
9 Eloi Pelissier
10 Rob Butler
11 Josh Walters
12 Rhys Curran
13 Sadiq Adebiyi
14 Matty Fozard It’s hard to emphasise enough the The man who you’ll rarely see without a
importance of signing Rhys Curran. smile on his face, Danny Ward is one of
15 Greg Richards
The backrower arrives from Toulouse the most liked coaches in the game at
16 Olsi Krasniqi
having been one of their star players for any level.
17 James Meadows years, boasting an incredible try-scoring His jovial attitude, attractive brand of
18 Dan Norman record for a player in his position. rugby and willingness to improve players
19 Jacob Ogden An excellent line-runner and steady in has earned him many admirers in recent
20 Daniel Hindmarsh defence, Curran has established himself years.
21 Sam Davis as one of the competition’s best players. Reputations are fragile, he’ll know that,
Championship big-hitters of yesteryear and one bad season can ruin it all. But
22 Gideon Boafo
have splashed the cash on big-name the Great Britain assistant coach won’t
23 Jordan Williams
signings. Curran might not fit that mould, give that too much thought. He’s got the
24 Rian Horsman
but he knows this level better than most, Broncos out of this competition once
25 Oliver Leyland and more importantly, has a proven track before and he’ll be confident of doing it
record of delivering the goods. again at the first attempt.

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