Escape act has given London Broncos a new belief

 
Jochan Embley14 February 2014

It has been a tough few months for London Broncos. Last season they finished second bottom of the Super League, propped up only by Salford Red Devils, who were deducted points.

Playing at the Twickenham Stoop, attendances had started to drop below the 2,000-mark regularly. Consequently the club’s finances suffered, so much so that on November 20, the Broncos announced their intentions to bring in the administrators.

Without a home for the 2014 season after agreeing to leave The Stoop, a period of uncertainty followed and the possibility of London being without a Super League club was dangerously close to a reality.

Eventually, the club were saved. A move to The Hive in Edgware as part of a two-year groundshare with Conference Premier football side Barnet was agreed, ending the threat of administration.

For Broncos second-rower Matt Cook, who has been with the club since 2012, the move was certainly a good one.

“The facilities down here are fantastic,” said Cook. “With how things were looking at the back end of last year, it was pretty bleak. But things are probably better now than before in terms of facilities and the club moving forward. Hopefully, we can set up some good roots here at The Hive.”

The 5,100-capacity stadium has the potential to provide a solid platform for the Broncos and although Cook remembers the financial hardship of the past, he is keen to move on.

“It was tough, especially while it was going on during the off-season, away from all the other lads who you would normally see day in, day out,” he said. “But the club did really well. Gus [Mackay, chief executive], was really good at letting us know everything that he knew. As soon as we came out of that rough period, it was just a matter of putting the past behind us and looking forward to the future and how exciting it is. I think the club have come out the other end stronger now.”

At the end of last season, there was a mass exodus as 19 players left but head coach Tony Rea has worked tirelessly to rebuild the squad.

“We’re starting to gel,” said Cook, who is set to captain the new-look team in their League opener on Sunday, away at Widnes. “More and more faces have turned up as the weeks have gone by. We’re adding a lot of strength to our club every day a new face comes in.”

For the first time since 2009, two teams will be relegated as part of the restructuring of the Rugby Football League system. The Broncos have been tipped to go down, Cook is unperturbed.

“At the end of the season, I definitely don’t see us being in a relegation position, otherwise there’s no point in us being here,” he said. “We want to set our expectations and be realistic and try to aim for that mid-table spot. The pundits and critics have got us down as finishing last but we’re just going to ignore that and hopefully go out there and shock a lot of people.”

Cook is also aware of the wider impact the survival of the only English Super League team south of Warrington will have on both the capital and beyond.

“It’s just massive for the sport as a whole because down here, it’s an untapped market,” he said. “If London Broncos go then all these players down in the south, all these great young kids that are starting to come through, might never get picked up. That would be a great shame.”

Broncos kick off their Super League campaign against Widnes Vikings on Sunday. For information visit londonbroncosrl.com

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