Match Preview - London Broncos (A)

28/08/2021

Sheffield Eagles make the journey to London Broncos tomorrow as they look to bounce back from a heavy defeat against Batley Bulldogs last weekend. 

The Eagles have had a tough time with absentees due to injuries and COVID throughout 2021 but Mark Aston has not made any excuses for what has been an inconsistent season. 

The same can be said for London, who are a full-time side but have struggled to hit the heights expected of them. They’re currently coached by Tom Tsang, who was promoted to the role following Danny Ward’s departure. 

Last Time Out

London were 32-18 losers against Whitehaven, despite leading at half-time. 

The Broncos were 18-12 up thanks to tries from Abbas Miski, Josh Hodson and Rhys Curran but Haven fired back in the second period, outscoring their full-time opponents 20-0.

Tom Wilkinson and Liam Cooper got on the scoresheet in the first half for the hosts, before Andrew Bulman, Nikau Williams and Lachlan Walmsley all crossed the whitewash after the restart to seal a great win. 

Sheffield went down 56-12 to a motivated Batley side. 

James Davey and Oliver Davies scored the Eagles’ only tries while Greg Johnson notched a hat-trick for the Bulldogs. 

Lucas Walshaw and Luke Hooley registered braces while Dale Morton, Nyle Flynn and Jonny Campbell were the other try-scorers for the West Yorkshire club. 

Key Battle

The Eagles will be hoping for the return of their talisman playmaker Anthony Thackeray for the trip to the capital. 

His presence alone is a big factor in any success for the club and he will be raring to go after missing the last few weeks through injury. 

With Izaac Farrell still not available, Harry Tyson-Wilson may get the nod to play alongside Thackeray if the latter returns to action this weekend. 

That would mean Aaron Brown going back to his normal position of loose forward, following a stint at stand-off. 

For London, their 21 man squad does not include Cory Aston or Jarrod Sammut - the half-back combo that played the Eagles earlier on this year. 

Rian Horsman is highly-rated by the Broncos and may well be picked by coach Tsang. 

Former Eagles hooker Matty Fozard and dual-registration favourite James Meadows are two players that can play in the halves, to go alongside Horsman.