By Chris Macey
As a southerner, it's never any surprise to hear that not many people have heard of Rugby League, and those that do give the usual 'pfft, touch rugby!' or other such quotes dismissing it as a' northern sport, and they can keep it!' attitude. It's arguably one of the biggest examples of the north/south divide in England and something that draws equally dismissive and (probably) over the top reactions to either. Union people generally seeing League as lesser, almost arrogantly, is countered by a very genuine dislike by a lot of northerners, usually involving some kind of spitting motion whenever they utter the dreaded U-word. That veneer probably blocks a lot of people from enjoying both codes, and if treated as the separate sports they are, would see how enjoyable they both can be. As a southerner I like Union, I really dig the international game and the attention it gets and the high level of competition. The years have been very kind to it. But I LOVE League. it's by far the most entertaining sport on the planet in my opinion and the way it has languished over the years by comparison is just plain wrong. That Berlin wall-esque animosity divide has never, and will never, be any good for the sport. But enough about that for now. the reason I was asked to have a go at this was to write about my own love for the Broncos.
The first I knew of their very existence was also down to my greatest influence in the club and the sport. That man was my uncle Mike. He had it on TV years and years ago when me and my sister were over and I sat down and watched. The Broncos were playing Castleford and, ironically, they lost. Much to my then amusement, I think it's just a kid thing . Well after that I proclaimed myself a Tigers fan et cetera and would bug my uncle for news about both they and the Broncos. I think it is probably the reason I have a bit of a soft spot for Cas to this day.
So this continues until my uncle proposes we go to an actual match down at Griffin Park. Mum was alright with it and so off we went. Home, against Widnes, and we lost 18-19. didn't stop me from loving every minute I was there, I don't remember much of the game but I remember how I felt being there. Joining in with 2-3,000 others chanting "London!" as players like Dennis Mo ran, Steele Retchless, Russel Bawden tore it up. The atmosphere always felt like there were more of us and we had more of a big club feel than what we do today.
Skip forward some time, more matches later to the time we found out we were to become Harlequins RL. I remember feeling a bit gutted we had to change our name and colours and have to discover a new identity, but proud we had made it to the play-offs in '05, eventually losing out to the Bulls who went on and won the whole thing anyways. It didn't dilute my slowly growing passion for the sport. I'd rage about it at school until I left for college in '04, where I would rage about it there to anyone silly enough to listen, especially my 'Union holier than thou' lecturers. Never a bad word said but I always wanted to get the message through about how good the game itself was.
2006 was the real start of something, I became an adult officially, passed my driving test, and did something I still remember to this day. I rewarded myself for passing by buying myself the Harlequin top, which I still have and cherish to this day (and so far still fits luckily). College all week and rugby at whatever weekend we could. It was still in that transition where I was able to really connect and go and show my support as much as physically possible. Any games on TV we'd watch religiously cheering on the likes of Mark McLinden, Solomon Haumono, big LMS, Luke Dorn, Julien Rinaldi and others. Still fondly remember jumping around the living room as we beat Warrington away on Sky. Challenge Cup finals were among the best days out any sports fan could ever want and could never recommend sampling that atmosphere enough. My fondest memory is when the Wolves won their second successive trophy in 2010. We had sat our little group amongst some Warrington supporters and the bloke that was next to me had missed last year's triumph due to some reason and was dead certain he wasn't going to miss that happen again (if they won). He had never seen them lift the trophy in person in his life and that moment when the final whistle blew and this bloke didn't know whether to cheer or cry just stuck with me. I'd honestly love to have felt what he felt then and would still do. This time in my life I wasn't as actively supporting as before, mainly because of work commitments meaning I worked every Saturday. It started to become difficult, although I never stopped supporting, I felt bad I wasn't able to come down and cheer them on as much as I had done and would like. 2010 was also the year that my son was born. I already had a step-daughter but her age meant it was easier to arrange things and still got to go to places etc. those with children know the score and how difficult it becomes to do what you once did so often.
This time saw my interest drop to its lowest it ever had dropped, not because of how things were either on or off the pitch. Life just gets in the way. I was gutted when I wasn't able to make it to one of the home games where they decided to play at Priestfield, as that is where I live. I'm a Kent lad, from Gillingham, pretty much born and raised. I have cheered on the Gills in my time and watched both them and the Broncos almost simultaneously. This life-imposed hiatus of sorts carried on and me and my partner had another child in 2012. By this time it was just work and kids that occupied us and we weren't able to do a lot of things outside of that. But I never stopped following, seeing us narrowly avoid the wooden spoon in those years was both saddening and something to brag about. No matter how bad we were at times, there was always someone worse.
November/December 2013 was a horrid wake up call. News that the club was going under completely and there was nothing in place for the 2014 season was just horrible. It was also ironic that it had to happen just before relegation made its untimely comeback. Something about this brought all the memories back to the forefront of everything not family related and made me wish to head back up there and support the team I loved again, with new vigour and a sense of trepidation as the club was in a bad way. There are people more well-informed, connected and such that can make far better appraisals of those times and who did what/who should've done this differently than me to pass judgement. Mine was a simple case of, willing the club to continue and to follow them no matter what.
It's unexplainable to someone who doesn't follow any kind of team or anything to explain in words. All those northern naysayers, and those that have never wanted a presence down here must have been lapping it up, they certainly enjoyed 2014 as a result! I think if we had gone under I don't think I could have followed the sport as much as I did and do today. You can't just follow another team. That'd be like saying to a Bulls fan when they nearly went under "chin up! Halifax isn't that far away just go watch them." you can't. Physically cannot. I went to as many games as I could in 2014, always expecting relegation, hardly expecting to win, but going just in case, on that day, the lads bagged 2 points and we could go bananas. We did against the Rhinos and in a cruel twist of fate I wasn't able to make that one!
2014 was like watching someone hover a finger of the reset button unsure of whether it would pay off. Relegation forced that particular hand in a way and we had to completely shake the squad up again.
2015, in my opinion, is different. Feels different. We have a very high number of young, southern talent. Probably the highest we've ever had. Not including the number of very good players over the years that are only able to ply this trade thanks to the club. That for me is by far the single most satisfying thing about this year. Our performances at times could have been a lot better BUT, with what has happened, personnel shake ups both in and outside of the squad we have acquitted ourselves well and now it's about getting a team together, that WANT to stay together, that WANT to represent London and the south and feel proud of the team no matter what. Fans have moved on from the team, some completely, some still keeping an eye on things but don't want to go right now (sadly, the one person responsible for me being like this is counted amongst their number) - if we had but a quarter of the 'likes' on facebook turn up we'd have a higher attendance than a lot of the heartland clubs do on a regular basis.
We need somewhere that we can call our own, either long term tenancy or even part ownership. Building our own ground at the moment would be impossible and I'd hate to see anyone get planning permission in London. Merchandise is virtually non-existent outside of replica shirts and we need banners around the ground shouting our name into the heavens themselves! Secure somewhere to bring all the old naysayers back. Not that I don't sympathise with anyone who may have had enough with how things have gone in recent years, far from it. But deep down they still want a successful, stable London club. Stability for the Bronco's is massively key to the game in the south as a whole, as is the way the RFL handle things. Something as simple as fixtures - if they play London and south-east games on Saturdays then have the Broncos play Sunday. Give clubs with youth grade teams the means to get the kids down to watch the club through discount tickets or whatever. How many of the young kids playing down here are Bronco fans? If not many then why not? There are so many teams playing at the moment getting kids to want to be a Bronco is surely key to building long term stability and loyalty to the club. Instead of it being a case of "well, there really isn't many other options, so play here and hope someone from up north takes notice of you."
Having the RFL host an amateur cup final, or even one of the London Origin matches as a precursor to a Bronco's game would be great and would give the kids involved a chance to play in front of a crowd at a stadium. Something to get them inspired! The RFL need to facilitate many ways of lynch pinning the Broncos and the game in the south as a whole together, make them proud of one another.
I think the amateur game is gaining some real clout down here, with new teams popping up (Invicta Panthers spring to mind down my way), and some clubs with real aspirations to move up into the big time. I'm lucky to have a local club that are making progress and have such aims. The Medway Dragons play not far from where I live, have recently been moved up to the highest league that the south east has, and have a goal to be semi-pro by the end of the decade. They have a young squad, a goal to do what Coventry did this season in whatever set up League 1 has by then, and an experienced head coach in the form of Rob Powell, who has managed to juggle being head of youth for the Broncos whilst steering the Dragons to grand final success last season. This season has been quite the wake-up call for the club but they will only get better. What needs to happen if they continue to develop is have the RFL come down in force and tell people about this! Get them curious, work with other local businesses. I'd have them work with the Gills to make people aware, hand out flyers, something in the matchday programme, half time pitch interviews and a schedule that works so it doesn't clash with any football league fixtures where they can so people don't have to choose between the 2.
The Dragons would need a ground and they are quite lucky to have something very close to where they play now. Pretty much next door kind of close.
The Garrison is a part of a rather large park area known as the great lines. It has a couple of football pitches and space for the Dragons to play and train. Just a little way down the road there is an old, small rugby pitch with a small terrace that needs some TLC. It's the perfect location. With the right investment at the right time it could easily be the home of professional Rugby League in Kent. A real reason to be proud and with no need to share as Medway's Union team play in Rochester. If I somehow ended up stupidly rich I'd almost definitely try and infect my hometown with my passion for this sport and help keep the Dragons going, as it's teams like this that are crucial to that north/south divide being a thing of the past.
The RFL will never attract any real time major sponsorship without a real presence in and around the capital, it almost goes without saying. Every major sport in this country vies for attention in the capital and we need to as well. I'd argue Wigan are doing a good thing by trying to raise awareness of this sport down here, but the Broncos need to capitalise on this opportunity and offer something sustainable and entertaining to keep these new faces interested. A secure home and a squad that is desperate to play for the pride of the city is the only thing that will do that. Results and crowds will follow.
I'll still be up wherever we play, whenever I can and I'll always assume the 50+ mile drive/train is worth it as I straight up love the sport and the club as a whole and there isn't anything that can change that.
Nothing feels better than heading home, more voiceless then when you arrived, having watched the lads give a good account of themselves against a heartland club and giving them a good hiding - it'll never get old!
As a southerner, it's never any surprise to hear that not many people have heard of Rugby League, and those that do give the usual 'pfft, touch rugby!' or other such quotes dismissing it as a' northern sport, and they can keep it!' attitude. It's arguably one of the biggest examples of the north/south divide in England and something that draws equally dismissive and (probably) over the top reactions to either. Union people generally seeing League as lesser, almost arrogantly, is countered by a very genuine dislike by a lot of northerners, usually involving some kind of spitting motion whenever they utter the dreaded U-word. That veneer probably blocks a lot of people from enjoying both codes, and if treated as the separate sports they are, would see how enjoyable they both can be. As a southerner I like Union, I really dig the international game and the attention it gets and the high level of competition. The years have been very kind to it. But I LOVE League. it's by far the most entertaining sport on the planet in my opinion and the way it has languished over the years by comparison is just plain wrong. That Berlin wall-esque animosity divide has never, and will never, be any good for the sport. But enough about that for now. the reason I was asked to have a go at this was to write about my own love for the Broncos.
The first I knew of their very existence was also down to my greatest influence in the club and the sport. That man was my uncle Mike. He had it on TV years and years ago when me and my sister were over and I sat down and watched. The Broncos were playing Castleford and, ironically, they lost. Much to my then amusement, I think it's just a kid thing . Well after that I proclaimed myself a Tigers fan et cetera and would bug my uncle for news about both they and the Broncos. I think it is probably the reason I have a bit of a soft spot for Cas to this day.
So this continues until my uncle proposes we go to an actual match down at Griffin Park. Mum was alright with it and so off we went. Home, against Widnes, and we lost 18-19. didn't stop me from loving every minute I was there, I don't remember much of the game but I remember how I felt being there. Joining in with 2-3,000 others chanting "London!" as players like Dennis Mo ran, Steele Retchless, Russel Bawden tore it up. The atmosphere always felt like there were more of us and we had more of a big club feel than what we do today.
Skip forward some time, more matches later to the time we found out we were to become Harlequins RL. I remember feeling a bit gutted we had to change our name and colours and have to discover a new identity, but proud we had made it to the play-offs in '05, eventually losing out to the Bulls who went on and won the whole thing anyways. It didn't dilute my slowly growing passion for the sport. I'd rage about it at school until I left for college in '04, where I would rage about it there to anyone silly enough to listen, especially my 'Union holier than thou' lecturers. Never a bad word said but I always wanted to get the message through about how good the game itself was.
2006 was the real start of something, I became an adult officially, passed my driving test, and did something I still remember to this day. I rewarded myself for passing by buying myself the Harlequin top, which I still have and cherish to this day (and so far still fits luckily). College all week and rugby at whatever weekend we could. It was still in that transition where I was able to really connect and go and show my support as much as physically possible. Any games on TV we'd watch religiously cheering on the likes of Mark McLinden, Solomon Haumono, big LMS, Luke Dorn, Julien Rinaldi and others. Still fondly remember jumping around the living room as we beat Warrington away on Sky. Challenge Cup finals were among the best days out any sports fan could ever want and could never recommend sampling that atmosphere enough. My fondest memory is when the Wolves won their second successive trophy in 2010. We had sat our little group amongst some Warrington supporters and the bloke that was next to me had missed last year's triumph due to some reason and was dead certain he wasn't going to miss that happen again (if they won). He had never seen them lift the trophy in person in his life and that moment when the final whistle blew and this bloke didn't know whether to cheer or cry just stuck with me. I'd honestly love to have felt what he felt then and would still do. This time in my life I wasn't as actively supporting as before, mainly because of work commitments meaning I worked every Saturday. It started to become difficult, although I never stopped supporting, I felt bad I wasn't able to come down and cheer them on as much as I had done and would like. 2010 was also the year that my son was born. I already had a step-daughter but her age meant it was easier to arrange things and still got to go to places etc. those with children know the score and how difficult it becomes to do what you once did so often.
This time saw my interest drop to its lowest it ever had dropped, not because of how things were either on or off the pitch. Life just gets in the way. I was gutted when I wasn't able to make it to one of the home games where they decided to play at Priestfield, as that is where I live. I'm a Kent lad, from Gillingham, pretty much born and raised. I have cheered on the Gills in my time and watched both them and the Broncos almost simultaneously. This life-imposed hiatus of sorts carried on and me and my partner had another child in 2012. By this time it was just work and kids that occupied us and we weren't able to do a lot of things outside of that. But I never stopped following, seeing us narrowly avoid the wooden spoon in those years was both saddening and something to brag about. No matter how bad we were at times, there was always someone worse.
November/December 2013 was a horrid wake up call. News that the club was going under completely and there was nothing in place for the 2014 season was just horrible. It was also ironic that it had to happen just before relegation made its untimely comeback. Something about this brought all the memories back to the forefront of everything not family related and made me wish to head back up there and support the team I loved again, with new vigour and a sense of trepidation as the club was in a bad way. There are people more well-informed, connected and such that can make far better appraisals of those times and who did what/who should've done this differently than me to pass judgement. Mine was a simple case of, willing the club to continue and to follow them no matter what.
It's unexplainable to someone who doesn't follow any kind of team or anything to explain in words. All those northern naysayers, and those that have never wanted a presence down here must have been lapping it up, they certainly enjoyed 2014 as a result! I think if we had gone under I don't think I could have followed the sport as much as I did and do today. You can't just follow another team. That'd be like saying to a Bulls fan when they nearly went under "chin up! Halifax isn't that far away just go watch them." you can't. Physically cannot. I went to as many games as I could in 2014, always expecting relegation, hardly expecting to win, but going just in case, on that day, the lads bagged 2 points and we could go bananas. We did against the Rhinos and in a cruel twist of fate I wasn't able to make that one!
2014 was like watching someone hover a finger of the reset button unsure of whether it would pay off. Relegation forced that particular hand in a way and we had to completely shake the squad up again.
2015, in my opinion, is different. Feels different. We have a very high number of young, southern talent. Probably the highest we've ever had. Not including the number of very good players over the years that are only able to ply this trade thanks to the club. That for me is by far the single most satisfying thing about this year. Our performances at times could have been a lot better BUT, with what has happened, personnel shake ups both in and outside of the squad we have acquitted ourselves well and now it's about getting a team together, that WANT to stay together, that WANT to represent London and the south and feel proud of the team no matter what. Fans have moved on from the team, some completely, some still keeping an eye on things but don't want to go right now (sadly, the one person responsible for me being like this is counted amongst their number) - if we had but a quarter of the 'likes' on facebook turn up we'd have a higher attendance than a lot of the heartland clubs do on a regular basis.
We need somewhere that we can call our own, either long term tenancy or even part ownership. Building our own ground at the moment would be impossible and I'd hate to see anyone get planning permission in London. Merchandise is virtually non-existent outside of replica shirts and we need banners around the ground shouting our name into the heavens themselves! Secure somewhere to bring all the old naysayers back. Not that I don't sympathise with anyone who may have had enough with how things have gone in recent years, far from it. But deep down they still want a successful, stable London club. Stability for the Bronco's is massively key to the game in the south as a whole, as is the way the RFL handle things. Something as simple as fixtures - if they play London and south-east games on Saturdays then have the Broncos play Sunday. Give clubs with youth grade teams the means to get the kids down to watch the club through discount tickets or whatever. How many of the young kids playing down here are Bronco fans? If not many then why not? There are so many teams playing at the moment getting kids to want to be a Bronco is surely key to building long term stability and loyalty to the club. Instead of it being a case of "well, there really isn't many other options, so play here and hope someone from up north takes notice of you."
Having the RFL host an amateur cup final, or even one of the London Origin matches as a precursor to a Bronco's game would be great and would give the kids involved a chance to play in front of a crowd at a stadium. Something to get them inspired! The RFL need to facilitate many ways of lynch pinning the Broncos and the game in the south as a whole together, make them proud of one another.
I think the amateur game is gaining some real clout down here, with new teams popping up (Invicta Panthers spring to mind down my way), and some clubs with real aspirations to move up into the big time. I'm lucky to have a local club that are making progress and have such aims. The Medway Dragons play not far from where I live, have recently been moved up to the highest league that the south east has, and have a goal to be semi-pro by the end of the decade. They have a young squad, a goal to do what Coventry did this season in whatever set up League 1 has by then, and an experienced head coach in the form of Rob Powell, who has managed to juggle being head of youth for the Broncos whilst steering the Dragons to grand final success last season. This season has been quite the wake-up call for the club but they will only get better. What needs to happen if they continue to develop is have the RFL come down in force and tell people about this! Get them curious, work with other local businesses. I'd have them work with the Gills to make people aware, hand out flyers, something in the matchday programme, half time pitch interviews and a schedule that works so it doesn't clash with any football league fixtures where they can so people don't have to choose between the 2.
The Dragons would need a ground and they are quite lucky to have something very close to where they play now. Pretty much next door kind of close.
The Garrison is a part of a rather large park area known as the great lines. It has a couple of football pitches and space for the Dragons to play and train. Just a little way down the road there is an old, small rugby pitch with a small terrace that needs some TLC. It's the perfect location. With the right investment at the right time it could easily be the home of professional Rugby League in Kent. A real reason to be proud and with no need to share as Medway's Union team play in Rochester. If I somehow ended up stupidly rich I'd almost definitely try and infect my hometown with my passion for this sport and help keep the Dragons going, as it's teams like this that are crucial to that north/south divide being a thing of the past.
The RFL will never attract any real time major sponsorship without a real presence in and around the capital, it almost goes without saying. Every major sport in this country vies for attention in the capital and we need to as well. I'd argue Wigan are doing a good thing by trying to raise awareness of this sport down here, but the Broncos need to capitalise on this opportunity and offer something sustainable and entertaining to keep these new faces interested. A secure home and a squad that is desperate to play for the pride of the city is the only thing that will do that. Results and crowds will follow.
I'll still be up wherever we play, whenever I can and I'll always assume the 50+ mile drive/train is worth it as I straight up love the sport and the club as a whole and there isn't anything that can change that.
Nothing feels better than heading home, more voiceless then when you arrived, having watched the lads give a good account of themselves against a heartland club and giving them a good hiding - it'll never get old!