# 1997 London Broncos season

The 1997 London Broncos season was the eighteenth in the club's history and their second season in the Super League. Coached by Tony Currie, the Broncos competed in Super League II and finished in 2nd place. The club also reached the fifth round of the 1997 Challenge Cup and the Quarter Finals in the 1997 World Club Championship.

## 1997 squad statistics

| Squad Number | Name | Position | Age | Previous club | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Drop Goals | Points 1 |
| 1 | Shaun Edwards | Scrum-half | 30 | Wigan Warriors | 24 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| 2 | Mark Maguire | Wing | 25 | Australia | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | David Krause | Centre | 27 | South Queensland Crushers | 24 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 4 | Paul Smith | Centre | 27 | Sydney Roosters | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 5 | Martin Offiah | Wing | 30 | Wigan Warriors | 17 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| 6 | Tulsen Tollett | Stand-off | 24 | Parramatta Eels | >6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 30 |
| 7 | Josh White | Scrum-half | 26 | Illawarra Steelers | 23 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 45 |
| 8 | Matt Dunford | Prop | 29 | Manly Sea Eagles | 25 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 9 | Peter Gill | Loose forward | 32 | Gold Coast Chargers | >7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| 10 | Tony Mestrov | Prop | 27 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | >7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | Steve Rosolen | Second-row | 30 | Brisbane Norths | >3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 12 | Matt Nable | Second-row | 25 | Carlisle | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 13 | Terry Matterson | Loose forward | 30 | Brisbane Broncos | >7 | 11 | 38 | 2 | 122 |
| 14 | Nick Mardon | Fullback | 26 | Boroughmuir RU | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Ady Spencer | Second-row | 24 | London Broncos Academy | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 16 | Roger Best | Second-row | 23 | Manly Sea Eagles | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 17 | Matt Salter | Prop | 20 | London Broncos Academy | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Mick Seaby | Prop | 25 | Brisbane Broncos | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 19 | Andrew Hamilton | Second-row | 25 | South Queensland Crushers | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 20 | Greg Barwick | Fullback | 29 | Balmain Tigers | >5 | 7 | 85 | 0 | 198 |
| 21 | Giles Thomas | Scrum-half | 20 | London Broncos Academy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Scott Roskell | Wing | 28 | Runaway Bay | >7 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 76 |
| 24 | Russell Bawden | Prop | 24 | Brisbane Broncos | >7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 25 | Paul Terry | Prop | 20 | Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Robbie Beazley | Hooker | 23 | Illawarra Steelers | 31 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 27 | Andrew Duncan | Second-row | 25 | Warrington Wolves | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 29 | Kim Howard | Prop | 27 | Australia | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 31 | Tony Martin | Centre | 18 | London Broncos Academy | 25 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 34 |
| 33 | Abraham Fatnowna | Wing | 23 | Workington Town | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 34 | Wes Cotton | Wing | 20 | Wigan Warriors | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 35 | Kerrod Toby | Second-row | 18 | London Broncos Academy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sources:

## Super League II table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | Bradford Bulls (C) | 22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 769 | 397 | +372 | 40 | |
| 2 | London Broncos | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 616 | 418 | +198 | 33 | |
| 3 | St Helens | 22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 592 | 506 | +86 | 29 | |
| 4 | Wigan | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 683 | 398 | +285 | 28 | |
| 5 | Leeds Rhinos | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 544 | 463 | +81 | 27 | |
| 6 | Salford Reds | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 428 | 495 | −67 | 22 | |
| 7 | Halifax Blue Sox | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 524 | 549 | −25 | 18 | |
| 8 | Sheffield Eagles | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 415 | 574 | −159 | 18 | |
| 9 | Warrington Wolves | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 437 | 647 | −210 | 16 | |
| 10 | Castleford Tigers | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 334 | 515 | −181 | 12 | |
| 11 | Paris Saint-Germain | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 362 | 572 | −210 | 12 | |
| 12 | Oldham Bears (R) | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 461 | 631 | −170 | 9 | Relegated to Division One |

## 1997 Challenge Cup

The London Broncos progressed to the fifth round of the Cup, before losing to the Bradford Bulls at The Stoop.
| Round | Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
| Fourth round | 9 February 1997 | Lancashire Lynx | 5–48 | London Broncos | 713 |
| Fifth Round | 22 February 1997 | London Broncos | 12–34 | Bradford Bulls | 6,102 |

## 1997 World Club Championship
### Super League

Pool A
| Club | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | For | Against | Diff. | Points |
| Wigan Warriors | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 89 | 212 | -123 | 4 |
| London Broncos | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 136 | 238 | -102 | 2 |
| Bradford Bulls | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 82 | 228 | -146 | 0 |
| St Helens | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 96 | 270 | -174 | 0 |
| Warrington Wolves | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 78 | 256 | -178 | 0 |
| Halifax Blue Sox | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 56 | 340 | -284 | 0 |
Sources:

## WCC matches
### Round 1

| 6 June 1997 |
| Brisbane Broncos | 42 – 22 | London Broncos | ANZ Stadium, Brisbane | Attendance: 18,193 |

### Round 2

| 15 June 1997 |
| Canberra Raiders | 66 – 20 | London Broncos | Bruce Stadium, Canberra | Attendance: 6,471 |

### Round 3

| 22 June 1997 |
| Canterbury Bulldogs | 34 – 18 | London Broncos | Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney | Attendance: 4,000 |

### Round 4

| 21 July 1997 |
| London Broncos | 38 – 18 | Canberra Raiders | The Stoop, London | Attendance: 7,819 |

### Round 5

| 27 July 1997 |
| London Broncos | 16 – 34 | Brisbane Broncos | The Stoop, London | Attendance: 9,846 |

### Round 6

| 1 August 1997 |
| London Broncos | 22 – 44 | Canterbury Bulldogs | The Stoop, London | Attendance: 6,923 |

### Quarter-finals

| 6 October 1997 |
| London Broncos | 16 – 40 | Cronulla Sharks | The Stoop, London | Attendance: 6,239 |
Sources: