London Broncos' Super League Hopes in Limbo Despite Unbeaten Season

For almost the entirety of their 40-year existence, London Broncos have felt eternally stuck in rugby league purgatory. From the name changes ­– Fulham, London Crusaders, Harlequins and now the Broncos – to their nomadic existence across almost every corner of the capital, they have just never managed to capture the attention of enough people.

But this year, the club finds itself in a very different kind of limbo. Having gone desperately close to going out of business last year, the Broncos were saved by the Australia great Darren Lockyer and his business partner, Grant Wechsel. Their goal was simple: invest as heavily as possible, as quickly as possible, to get London not just back to Super League, but competing there.

It looks to be working. On Sunday, the Broncos made it 20 wins from 20 in the Championship after beating Widnes Vikings. They will, barring a major miracle, go on to win the grand final with a star-studded squad that is led by former Kangaroos prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard and numerous other Super League-standard players.

Herein lies the problem, though. Whereas in most sports, the best team in the second division would get promoted to the top flight, rugby league is different. Each October, the highest-ranked 14 clubs in the IMG-devised gradings system get access to Super League – and they are graded on a variety of metrics, not just on-field performance.

It means that even though London are a better fit for Super League than at least one or two existing top-flight clubs, they have to wait three more months to discover their fate; wins alone are not enough. There is a nervous feeling that they may not get enough grading points to do it. So they are, once again, stuck in purgatory.

London’s owners are determined to make them a force, though. “There were just three members of staff when we took over last year,” Wechsel says. “The staffing levels now are of Super League standard. But we’ve been in limbo for so long now, waiting on the gradings. Our score will have a significant increase but we’re impacted by it being weighted over a number of years.”

Wechsel and Lockyer have already invested millions. It is a throwback to the days when the Broncos were being bankrolled by Richard Branson in their previous heyday of the 1990s but this time, the ownership are adamant they are here to stay.

However, another season in the Championship would derail their long-term vision, and Wechsel admits they are pushing to find out what division they will be playing in as quickly as possible. “The sooner we know, the more we can do,” he says. “It’s hard to get big names from Australia without Super League rugby but if we get it, we’ll get big names.

“We are trying to super-charge rugby league in London but also rugby league full stop. Every big club I speak to sees us as good for the game. I understand some other clubs might see us a threat, without naming them. But they’re not growing the game commercially; we think we can do that.”

The Guardian has been told by people close to the NRL that if they take control of Super League in the coming weeks then London will be in, such is the importance of the capital to the wider plans of the governing body for global expansion.

“I know they’ve publicly said they want us in,” Wechsel says. “It was promising hearing Peter [V’Landys, the interim NRL CEO] say he is turning his attention to Super League. I don’t think it’s any great secret that having London in Super League makes your game stronger, and the NRL know that. But it’s a strong London the game needs, not just London.”

If London do get the green light through any access point ­– expansion to 15 teams, the gradings or the NRL forcing Super League’s hand – the plans are huge. They want to play in Las Vegas in 2028, have already said they will do a double-header with a regular season NRL game in London: and they want to play Wigan at Craven Cottage, a throwback to their Fulham days.

Wechsel says Lockyer’s ownership of London and their story is capturing more air-time in Australia than the Perth Bears, who will become the newest NRL team in 2027. But for the millions they are investing to make London a rugby league force, there is one long-standing challenge money seemingly cannot alter.

“Capturing attention on the ground in London … that’s been as tough as we thought it would be,” he says. “But it’s a bit chicken and egg. Being in Super League would make a huge difference; we think people in London would be immediately more interested if Wigan and Leeds were visiting – but most importantly if we were competing with them.

We want to be in the playoffs and pushing for trophies the second we’re in Super League and we have the capital to do it.”

In the immediate term, London have four league games left in pursuit of an unbeaten Championship campaign; Goole Vikings are the visitors to Wimbledon this Sunday.

They will continue to tick off the wins but they and the sport’s vision for London are stuck in limbo until the autumn, it seems.