London v Salford.

London Broncos have started 2026 in emphatic fashion. Under a new coach in Jason Demetriou and a very experianced leadership/ ownership-many believe the club will be heading back to the Top flight sooner rather than later. 

The club finished 10th last season with 8 wins from 24 matches. This season they are top of the league with 5/5 wins also amassing a 253 points difference in that quintet of matches.

For Salford this looks a very difficult task considering our recent results away from home. 

I’ve heard a few people say recently that it’s a free hit this year and we are just happy to have a team. I kind of get part of that sentiment but the free hit bit I don’t agree with. If that attitude were to filter down through to the players and staff then what’s the point?? Sport is all about competing and challenging yourself both individually and collectively. I am not naive though and it’s obvious that there are mitigating circumstances for us this season with everything the club has been through. With all that said though it’s normal to feel disappointed after a defeat. It was tough to watch the lads get took apart against Doncaster and Workington. There is certainly no quick fix and as supporters it’s about being patient.

It’s hard to manage your expectations when you support and love a sporting club. No one should ever feel guilty of being disappointed though. It’s the only way we will get better. Players need to be challenged and supported at the same time. Trying your best should always be a given though and not something we lord up. 

With all that said of course I am expecting a baptism of fire on Sunday. I think London will come out flying and full of confidence. As supporters we will be right behind the team from minute one to eighty!

I must give the Salford RLFC supporters Trust a huge thanks. I attended the fans forum on Saturday. Lots of players and club staff were in attendance and it was great to hear their thoughts on the season so far. Be sure to look out for more events the Trust put on throughout the season. They are always very enjoyable and informative.

League away record.

London 11

Draws 1

Salford 11

 

1984 Fulham 10 Salford 12

1983 Fulham 17 Salford 9

1997 London 48 Salford 12

1998 London 21 Salford 12

1999 London 28 Salford 14

2000 London 24 Salford 33

2000 London 10 Salford 16

2001 London 14 Salford 37

2002 London 26 Salford 19

2004 London 35 Salford 30

2005 London 34 Salford 18

2006 Harlequins 40 Salford 18

2007 Harlequins 18 Salford 18

2007 Harlequins 22 Salford 16

2009 Harlequins 22 Salford 26

2010 Harlequins 22 Salford 26

2011 Harlequins 16 Salford 24

2012 London 40 Salford 28

2013 London 30 Salford 44

2014 London 18 Salford 44

2018 London 11 Salford 8 (qualifiers)

2019 London 10 Salford 30

2019 London 28 Salford 58

They played for both.

Since Fulham made there debut season in 1980 there have been a lot of players to represent the capitals team (Fulham,London,Harlequins)and Salford, here are a selection;

Steven Bannister, Radney Bowker, Andrew Brocklehurst, Luke Burgess, Mason Caton Brown, David Cruikshank, Luke Dorn, David Driver, Carl Forster, Matt Gardner, Matty Gee, Tony Gourley, George Griffin, Gareth Haggerty, Tim Hartley, David Highton, Andy Johnson, Ben Jones Bishop, Olsi Krasniqi, Tommy Lee, Ian Maccorquodale, Martin Offiah, Rob Parker, Gareth Price, Jon Roper, Darren Shaw, Andy Smith, Anthony Stewart, Trevor Stockley and Josh White.

A match to remember Saturday 17th February 2007.

Harlequins 18 Salford 18.

After an agonising 26-30 defeat at home to Leeds in front of over 8,000 supporters in round one Salford travelled to The Stoop for this Saturday evening clash.

Harlequins had former Australian Test star Scott Hill at standoff along side former Castleford player Danny Orr who played scrum half.

Salford had a new half back of their own in Luke Dorn. Michael Korkidas and Mark Edmondson were both in the starting lineup for the City Reds after joining for 2007.

Early tries by Tyrone Smith, Chris Melling and Paul Sykes put Quins ahead before John Wilshere and Luke Robinson brought the Reds back into the game.

Salford struggled to grab a foot hold in the match after such a poor start but their endeavour and hard work was rewarded as they fought back to 14-10 at half time.

After the restart, Robinson’s failure to hold on to Rinaldi in the tackle let him score and restore Quins’ cushion.

It looked to be enough until Henry Paul’s misjudged kick launched a Reds counter, finishing in a try for AndyColey. With the scores at 18-14 a frantic finish followed. Another poor kick this time from Orr allowed Salford one last throw of the dice. Michael Korkidas crashed over to delight the travelling supporters and tie the scores at 18-18.

It fell to David Hodgson to try and seal a famous win but his missed goal ensured the game ended as dramatically as it had started. Both sides with four tries and three missed conversions had to settle for a draw and a point a piece.

The teams that day;

Harlequins, Melling, Wells, Sykes, Smith, Gaffa, Hill, Orr, Te Mata, Randall, Mills, Purdham, Hopkins, Paul.

Subs, Rinaldi, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Grayshon, Worrincy.

Salford, Hodgson, Halliwell, Mcguinness, Littler, Wilshere, Dorn, Robinson, Coley, Alker, Korkidas, Edmondson, Adamson, Finnigan.

Subs, Haggerty, Jewitt, Williams, Brocklehurst.

Referee, Phil Bentham.

Attendance, 3,515.

Sunday’s match.

Looking at past meetings and records Salford have won eight of the last ten meetings. The Broncos last victory over Salford came in a Middle eights qualifier game at The Trailfinders sports ground in Ealing in September 2018. It was a pretty damp and miserable day in a match that never really came to life. Salford blew a few chances and ended up losing 11-8.

After a disappointing campaign in 2025 London have bolstered their squad with plenty of eye catching signings. They’ve gone for size and experience amongst other qualities. Neil Tchamambe spent time on loan with Salford at the back end of last year and despite a rawness he had a mark of real potential. He scored two tries in four appearances for Salford and has been loaned to London for the season from parent club Wakefield Trinity. Sam Davis joined Salford in 2025 but struggled with injuries. After making a handful of appearances he’s returned to the Broncos where his professional career started back in 2017.

Reagan Campbell-Gillard is the Broncos captain and what a huge statement signing this was. He’s played over 200 appearances in the NRL and been capped by Australia nine times between 2017 and 2022. At 6ft4 and over 18 stone he will take some stopping. Campbell-Gillard is the cousin of the Sims siblings. You may remember Aston Sims playing for Warrington and Toronto. Jack Croft has joined from Wakefield and he’s another player who represented Salford on loan last year. Alex Walker is a very exciting fullback who burst on the scene over a decade ago. Despite moving away to Yorkshire playing for Wakefield and Featherstone, Walker rejoined the Broncos in 2022, he’s a local lad from Harlow in Essex. James Meadows is another native of London who’s a very versatile player and scrum half Dean Hawkins was playing first grade Rugby League for Parramatta this time last year. 

Finally an honourable mention to Will Lovell who has played over 250 matches for the Broncos and London Skolars over the past 14 years. The 32 year old back rower made his Super League debut at the Etihad Stadium in the 2012 Magic Weekend.

Mike Grady’s Salford side had no game last weekend but it was great to see Mike and the lads at the Supporters trust event as mentioned earlier in the preview. Mike is under no illusions to how difficult the task will be this Sunday but it will be interesting to see if any loan players come in before this week’s captains run. As I write this on Wednesday evening I’ve not yet seen any news on loan movement. We do have a permanent signing though with Sam Bowring joining on a permanent deal from Midlands Hurricanes!

If Salford can do the basics right and complete sets early in the game it will give them a chance to get in the arm wrestle. Discipline needs to be top notch because the Broncos won’t need an invitation to come looking for points. If you are spending some time down in the capital over the weekend and perhaps staying over to do some site seeing have a great time. 

Safe travels and enjoy the match.

The action gets under way at 3pm.

Paul Whiteside. 

Big thanks to Steve McCormick for the photos and the Salford match day programme.