Wahey!

2 for 2 in the MPG, perhaps we should only play those!! Well done both players & coaches.

Just got back from Plough Lane. Great atmosphere. Feared for us a bit in first half as we looked a bit flat and they are a strong team. We seemed to key ploughing down the very crowded middle and hoping they’d get out the way. Second half we had real intent and they seemed out of ideas. Brilliant result. Haven’t a clue where this leaves recruitment and retention but we set out to win the league and did. After the rubbish we had to put up with last year that was a real achievement and the fans who have contuined to turn up deserved it. Bit sorry Natoli missed out. He seems a good guy and has been excellent all season but I guess last weeks head knock meant he wasn’t allowed to play. Hope we retain him.
tIf IMg are serious about growing the game we could desperately do with some help on how to market the club and shouldn’t be too proud to ask. Well done to David Hughes- picking up Whare and Norman was a masterstoke.

2024 London loop fixtures: Catalans, Warrington (home), Hull KR, Leeds (away). Magic: Hull FC.

None of them easy but only one trip to the South of France (unless in Cup).

From the celebration photos on X Butler looks a card! Wouldn’t like to be sat next to him on the flight home. Anything could happen. COYB.

BT. You feel IMG have to get very involved. They wanted a London presence and it's been handed to them on a plate, such that only IMG and not relegation can take it away from them. Could get very interesting and messy, but this is a huge moment for IMG.

I don't have the background about all the issues over the years with the Broncos, but regardless of the views on David Hughes in particular, surely it's about getting it right now. Whether in the past so much money has been ed up the wall, loyal fans pushed away, relationships with the club broken down etc, it's time to learn from those mistakes and move forward. Obviously everyone can keep bringing up the past. Fine if it's constructive but self defeating otherwise.

I appreciate there is lot to resolve, but from my short time following, I'm struggling to think of any realistic scenario that would have had London in as strong a position as they find themselves today. I'm really talking from their position in the England game. Behind the scenes the club could be really struggling although my gut feeling is the additional income streams will make a difference. But in terms of a London based club playing at a high level with a future, I think the timing of IMG's changes have fallen at the right time, and credit to London as arguably the team likely to get the most benefit, to get things correct on the playing field and the best moment possible. Last year too early and next year too late.

I suspect no games are going to easy for us but you’ve got to be in the comp to find out. And we’ve done it. Remind me do Hull usually implode before or after Magic. If the former we may be in with a shout all things being equal.

Bent&Bongser or others could you explain how the Loop fixtures work and how we probably know what they are already. I guess the former relates to the uneven number of fixtures compared to number of teams in the Super League. For the latter is it based on additional derbies / rivals that drives it's make-up and is it fixed season after season or does it change each year?

There’s been a lot of chat about SL needing a strong London team, in essence, to give it a bit more glamour/national status. I’m not convinced but if that is what is felt absolutely now is the time for everyone to make the effort. If DH puts his hand in his pocket and we strengthen this squad sufficient that we don’t get cast adrift then sending us down would seem to cut across that although I would be far from pleased if I was the heartland, decently supported team that was sacrificed. For me IMG have been well below the radar. My guess is the SL teams basically hamstr8ng any suggestions they make. I simply don’t know what they can actually do but I hope Broncos and IMg are speaking

Happy for the team.....worried for the club.
As for smitthers comments about brining up the past, it needs to be done until Hughes realises that he has consistently got it wrong. Even this time around he's got a coach he didn't employ but one that dropped into the job when Hughes appointment proved to be crap. Were still in sub 1k gates and he needs to spend and spend big if we're to get anything more than we did last time. And firstly ....not one person through the gates at Plough Lane shouldn't have their email phone and postal address taken and be flooded with marketing. 50% or more of the 1,500 + Wigan fans who visit will be capital residents.....if Hughes likes a challenge I'll come back from NZ and out of retirement for £125,000 for 1 year and show him how to grow his fan base....he can pay fory flight too

London have replaced Wakey. Of the teams in SL next year, you finished lowest (12th) in the general scheme of things. With twelve being an even number, your "loops" are against the other even numbered clubs by league placing in the season just gone. Obviously the same applies to the "unevenly placed" teams.

Not sure how the selection of homes, aways and Magic opponents works.

MW next year features Wigan v St Helens and Leigh v Salford. You could postulate that local derbies were preferred but were that the case why, being available under the above criteria, aren't KR facing FC?

Ask an expert.

Well done again - proper chuffed!

We have just got back from Plough Lane, which was very well attended. What a great time we had and well done the club for putting it on.
I have to praise Mike Eccles and the squad for a job well done. After a dreadful start to the season, where talk was of possible relegation. What a job they have done.

What about as you are retired and want London to succeed why dont you offer your services to Hughes for a deal.What about he rents you a nice flat In Wimbledon for a year, business class flights and he pays you a fee if you hit your averages for the year?
Leeds figures posted this year were £2.5 million for ticket sales and memberships.London would be ecstatic with half that figure.
Offer 5000 season tickets at £175. 12 home games( average away fans 400 at £20).You are looking at nearly a million there.That is without walk ups for home fans.

Not tonight, eh? we celebrate the magnificent win and the return to Super league.
We worry about the future in a day or two when our hangover has gone, OK?
Let us just have one night to celebrate, we’ve had precious few lately. Certainly not since Toronto

Congratulations!

IMG have talked a good game (quietly) up to now and I am hopeful of realising their broader vision. I think a lot of people get caught up in thinking IMG are the arbiters of the game. But they are a partner and ultimately control will rest with the RFL who have often talked us up, but failed when it's come to setting the conditions to allow us to thrive as an expansion area, particularly in recent years.

I remember posting a few months back on the thread about Plough Lane/matchday experience/finances etc and saying then that Plough Lane was the facility we needed in 3-4 seasons time. It's worth remembering too that in the initial discussions around our use of the stadium, promotion back to SL potentially had us paying £500,000 a season for the privilege. Not sure whether that is still the case or not, but I guess we are going to get a good look at whether Wimbledon is the successful strategic draw Hughes thinks it must be!

Will Hughes put his hand in his pocket again now we are back in the big league? Yes, probably to an extent and in the short term he has very little choice otherwise, unless we see substantial investment from a new party, or an additional 4000 season ticket holders sign up between now and February. I laugh at some of the 'pundits' and RL talking heads out there, who are calling for a Leigh 2.0 from us next season. I think there is a lack of broader awareness of just how close to ground zero we are going to be starting from again, arguably more so than 2018.

Don't get me wrong, I am very happy and very excited not just about next season, but the opportunity this presents to potentially secure the clubs longer term future at the top level. I just hope we make best of it, because we could not have asked for it to be served up any better.

Who would have expected this after the way we started the season !! A few good signings (including a coach) have made all the difference. Credit to the team.

Management, however, is not up to SL standard and things will need to change significantly. We need new financial backing and a new CEO if we are going to make a success of this unexpected opportunity. Building the crowd for next season needs to start right now on the back of the publicity of this success. Season tickets are on sale so should be pushed hard but the club need to come clean about when and where games will be played. The aim should be for Broncos to be become every Northern exile's second (if not first) team.

Don't want to rain on anyone's parade but I think you're in for a bit of a shock to be honest if that's what you think about the impact of the IMG scoring system. This was a magnificent acheivement from Mike Eccles and the London squad and Broncos fans should be very proud, but the IMG scoring system was never going to do this year's promoted club (or indeed any team that has played in the Championship recently) any favours. London will score highly on the catchment area aspect, but not many other areas.

Just as long as we don't go overboard on the animal print thing, eh?

I think indicative IMG ratings will be published soon. We should expect a boost in terms of performance score assuming the 0.25 point championship winning bonus goes to playoff winners as opposed to the league leaders.

Well done! I think every game being on sky sports next year will be a big help for you to boost crowds, if neutrals in London see it, like what they see, they may be inclined to come along. Good luck for next season in super League! Missed my trips down to watch London(last came down to the stoop during the Quins RL era!)

Yes, correct on both counts. The 0.25 points will partly mitigate the impact of last year's 23rd overall position which will pull London down a lot in the overall performance rankings.There are lots of scoring areas where you'd think London will struggle - for instance after averaging crowds of just over 1,000 for the last 2 seasons it would take average crowds of nearly 7,000 to get London up above the lowest scoring threshold of 3,00 averages.

Game highlights available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i59wgKTDBP4

Game highlights available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i59wgKTDBP4

With Hughes quoted on the BBC website article saying he "hopes we get more fans" it doesn't sound like there is any thought out plan to achieve that goal as yet!!

Yes I noticed that as well. We could assume this is an all too familiar ‘let’s hope something happens’ plan or we could assume he’s just caught up in the emotion and shooting from the hip. In the spirit of positivity I’m going with the latter but with a timely reminder that if we have ever been capable of making considered decisions then now is the time to do it because this could get tricky. Our crowds will be larger but if we get spanked casual visitors won’t care that it’s Hull FC not Batley they will think we are losers and not come again. Recruitment/ retention really challenging and important and our move towards an effective PT Model for a London side is slightly redundant although we’d be mugs to Chuck the baby out with the bath water some Heartlands players will have to come I. And some good PT players who’ve done a job for us may have to go. Hope we can get some kind of arrangement with a L1 side to loan out some of our academy step ups so they get some match time. It seems to me that the benefit we get from that long term is more than the minuscule fee we tried to get out of Skolars this year if reports were true. If we have full time players let’s get them out into the community pre season to raise awareness.