# 2019 London Skolars season

The 2019 London Skolars season is the 25th in the club's history, and seventeenth as a professional rugby league outfit. Competing in Betfred League 1, the third tier of British Rugby League and playing at the New River Stadium, London N22, the team is coached by Jermaine Coleman for the fifth consecutive season.

## Year Review
### January

Just prior to Christmas the London Skolars announce that Betfred Championship club, Toronto Wolfpack are to invest in the London club as part of a ground-breaking transatlantic deal.
The 2019 Betfred League 1 fixtures, released in November 2018, schedule the London Skolars to travel to West Wales Raiders on the second weekend of the season on 23 February. The first home match will see Jermaine Coleman's team play host to Newcastle Thunder on 2 March in a Round 3 fixture.
On the field London Skolars preparations for the new season begin with a now traditional friendly contest against current Super League champions, Wigan Warriors at the Honourable Artillery Company Grounds on the third Friday of the month. A battling display from Jermaine Coleman's men ensures an absorbing contest and a respectable 6-34 reversal against a team containing a number of first teamers.
The following Friday sees the London Skolars complete their pre-season preparations as they entertain London Broncos at the New River Stadium. A disappointing first half has the home side trailing by 26 points at the break, but a stirring second half performance yields four tries for the North Londoners, courtesy of Harrison Brough, Jordan Williams, Mike Greenhalgh and Neil Thorman, although these prove insufficient as the hosts lose 22-36.

### February

The London Skolars announce their Round 6 fixture against Leon Pryce's Workington Town on Saturday 6 April will be played as part of an exciting double-header, which will also see Betfred Championship club, Toronto Wolfpack entertain Sheffield Eagles at the New River Stadium.
The north londoners begin their Betfred League 1 campaign with a hard-fought (28-18) away success against West Wales Raiders. A hat-trick of tries from Wigan Warriors dual-registration centre, Sam Grant inspires Jermaine Coleman’s team to return to the capital with the two competition points despite a plucky performance from the Welsh outfit.

### March
## Milestones
### February

* Liam Scott made his London Skolars Betfred League 1 debut in the round 2 away victory at West Wales Raiders.
* Richard Wilkinson made his first Betfred League 1 start in a London Skolars shirt as the Londoners secured the two points in the round 2 clash at West Wales Raiders.
* Xavier Rice made his London Skolars Betfred League 1 debut in the round 2 away success at West Wales Raiders.
* Omari Caro played in his 100th professional game in the round 2 triumph at West Wales Raiders, eleven of them for London Skolars.

### March
## Tables
### Betfred League 1

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Whitehaven | 20 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 582 | 283 | +299 | 32 | Champions |
| 2 | Oldham | 20 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 655 | 341 | +314 | 30 | Play-off semi-final |
| 3 | Newcastle Thunder | 20 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 741 | 364 | +377 | 29 | Play-off qualifying final |
| 4 | Doncaster | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 564 | 309 | +255 | 24 | Play-off qualifying final |
| 5 | Hunslet | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 596 | 379 | +217 | 24 | Play-off elimination final |
| 6 | Workington Town | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 592 | 478 | +114 | 21 | Play-off elimination final |
| 7 | North Wales Crusaders | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 489 | 501 | −12 | 18 | |
| 8 | London Skolars | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 440 | 542 | −102 | 15 | |
| 9 | Coventry Bears | 20 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 365 | 829 | −464 | 8 | |
| 10 | Keighley Cougars | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 447 | 576 | −129 | 5 | |
| 11 | West Wales Raiders | 20 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 222 | 1091 | −869 | 2 | |
* ↑ Keighley deducted 12 points for transfer of RFL membership during the close season.

## Fixtures and Results (Skolars Score First)

LEGEND :
* Win
* Draw
* Loss

### Pre-season

| Date | Competition | Vrs | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Att | Live on TV | Report |
| 18/01/2019 | CAPITAL CHALLENGE - Friendly | Wigan Warriors | Home | Honourable Artillery Company Grounds | L | 6-34 | Williams | Barran | 712 | - | Report |
| 25/01/2019 | Friendly | London Broncos | Home | New River Stadium | L | 22-36 | Brough, Williams, Greenhalgh (M), Thorman | Thorman 3/4 | 400 | - | Report |

### Betfred League 1

| Date | Competition | Vrs | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Att | Live on TV | Report |
| 23/02/2019 | Round 2 | West Wales Raiders | Away | Stebonheath Park | W | 28-18 | Grant 3, Caro, Williams | Thorman 1/1, Barran 3/4 | 250 | - | Report |
| 02/03/2019 | Round 3 | Newcastle Thunder | Home | New River Stadium | L | 12-48 | Meadows, Greenhalgh M | Thorman 2/2 | | - | |
| 16/03/2019 | Round 4 | Keighley Cougars | Home - KO 3pm | New River Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| 24/03/2019 | Round 5 | Oldham R.L.F.C. | Away - KO 3pm | Vestacare Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| 06/04/2019 | Round 6 | Workington Town | Home - KO 12.15pm | New River Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| 19/04/2019 | Round 7 | Coventry Bears | Away - KO 3pm | Butts Park Arena | | | | | | - | |
| 28/04/2019 | Round 8 | Hunslet R.L.F.C. | Away - KO 3pm | South Leeds Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| 11/05/2019 | Round 1 | North Wales Crusaders | Home - KO 3pm | New River Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| 18/05/2019 | Round 9 | Doncaster R.L.F.C. | Home - KO 4.30pm | New River Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| 25/05/2019 | Round 10 | Whitehaven | Away - KO 3pm | Recreation Ground (Whitehaven) | | | | | | - | |
| 15/06/2019 | Round 12 | West Wales Raiders | Home - KO 3pm | New River Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| 22/06/2019 | Round 13 | Keighley Cougars | Away - KO 3pm | Cougar Park | | | | | | - | |
| 29/06/2019 | Round 14 | Whitehaven | Home - KO 3pm | New River Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| 06/07/2109 | Round 15 | Coventry Bears | Home - KO 3pm | New River Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| 14/07/2019 | Round 16 | Workington Town | Away - KO 3pm | Derwent Park | | | | | | - | |
| 20/07/2019 | Round 17 | Newcastle Thunder | Away - KO 3pm | Kingston Park Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| 03/08/2019 | Round 18 | Oldham R.L.F.C. | Home - KO 3pm | New River Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| 11/08/2019 | Round 19 | Doncaster R.L.F.C. | Away - KO 3pm | Keepmoat Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| 23/08/2019 | Round 20 | Hunslet R.L.F.C. | Home - KO 7pm | New River Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| 07/09/2019 | Round 22 | North Wales Crusaders | Away - KO 3pm | Queensway Stadium | | | | | | - | |

### Coral Challenge Cup

| Date | Competition | Rnd | Vrs | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Att | Live on TV | Report |
| 10/03/2019 | Challenge Cup | Round 3 | North Wales Crusaders | Home - KO 2pm | New River Stadium | | | | | | - | |
| | Challenge Cup | | | | | | | | | | - | |

## Player appearances
### Betfred League 1

| FB=Fullback (1) | W=Winger (2 & 5) | C=Centre (3 & 4) | SO=Stand Off (6) | SH=Scrum half (7) | P=Prop (8) | H=Hooker (9) | FR=Front Row (10) | SR=Second Row (11 & 12) | LF=Loose forward (13) | I=Interchange (14-17) |
| Squad No | Player | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | Iliess Macani | C | C |
| 2 | Gideon Boafa - | W | W |
| 3 | Sam Grant- | C | C |
| 4 | TBC | x | x |
| 5 | Lameck Juma | x | W |
| 6 | James Barran - | SO | SO |
| 7 | James Meadows | x | SH |
| 8 | Judd Greenhalgh | FR | P |
| 9 | Neil Thorman | H | H |
| 10 | Liam Scott | I | FR |
| 11 | Jordan Williams | SR | SR |
| 12 | Michael Greenhalgh | SR | SR |
| 13 | Daniel Hindmarsh - | LF | LF |
| 14 | Richard Wilkinson | FB | FB |
| 15 | Isaac Ah-Kuoi-Atmore | I | I |
| 16 | Matt Ross | I | I |
| 17 | Lamont Bryan | P | I |
| 18 | Xavier Rice | I | x |
| 19 | Omari Caro | W | x |
| 20 | Mike Bishay | SH | I |

#### Notes

* ↑ London Broncos dual-registration
* ↑ Wigan Warriors dual-registration
* ↑ Wigan Warriors dual-registration
* ↑ London Broncos dual-registration

### Coral Challenge Cup

| FB=Fullback (1) | W=Winger (2 & 5) | C=Centre (3 & 4) | SO=Stand Off (6) | SH=Scrum half (7) | P=Prop (8) | H=Hooker (9) | FR=Front Row (10) | SR=Second Row (11 & 12) | LF=Loose forward (13) | I=Interchange (14-17) |
| Squad No | Player |
| 1 | Iliess Macani |
| 2 | Gideon Boafa - |
| 3 | Sam Grant - |
| 4 | TBC |
| 5 | Lameck Juma |
| 6 | James Barran - |
| 7 | James Meadows |
| 8 | Louis Robinson |
| 9 | Neil Thorman |
| 10 | Liam Scott |
| 11 | Jordan Williams |
| 12 | Michael Greenhalgh |
| 13 | Daniel Hindmarsh - |
| 14 | Richard Wilkinson |
| 15 | Isaac Ah-Kuoi-Atmore |
| 16 | Matt Ross |
| 17 | Lamont Bryan |
| 18 | Xavier Rice |
| 19 | Omari Caro |
| 20 | Mike Bishay |

#### Notes

* ↑ London Broncos dual-registration
* ↑ Wigan Warriors dual-registration
* ↑ Wigan Warriors dual-registration
* ↑ London Broncos dual-registration

## Squad statistics

* Appearances and Points include (Betfred League 1 and Coral Challenge Cup) as of 26 February 2019.
| Squad No | Player | Position | Previous Club | Apps | Tries | Goals | DG | Points |
| 1 | Iliess Macani | Centre | Sheffield Eagles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Gideon Boafa- | Wing | London Broncos | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Sam Grant - | Centre | Wigan Warriors | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 4 | Jake Melling | Centre | Unknown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Omari Caro | Wing | Bradford Bulls | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | James Barran - | Stand off | Wigan Warriors | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | Mike Bishay | Scrum half | London Broncos | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Louis Robinson | Prop | London Broncos Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Neil Thorman | Hooker | Coogee Dolphins | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Judd Greenhalgh | Front Row | Unknown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Jordan Williams | Second row | London Broncos Academy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | Michael Greenhalgh | Second row | Unknown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Daniel Hindmarsh - | Loose forward | London Broncos | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Richard Wilkinson | Full back | Doncaster R.L.F.C. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Xavier Rice | Hooker | Northcote Tigers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Liam Scott | Prop | Newcastle Thunder | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Isaac Ah-Kuoi-Atmore | Second row | Unknown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Matt Ross | Prop | Hemel Stags | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Lamont Bryan | Prop | Gloucestershire All Golds | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Notes

* ↑ London Broncos dual-registration
* ↑ Wigan Warriors dual-registration
* ↑ Wigan Warriors dual-registration
* ↑ London Broncos dual-registration

## Tale of the Tape

Most Points in a Game
* 12, Round 2: Sam Grant vs. West Wales Raiders (3 tries)
Most tries in a Game
* 3, Round 2: Sam Grant vs. West Wales Raiders
Highest score in a winning game
* 28, Round 2: vs. West Wales Raiders
Lowest score in a winning game
* 28, Round 2: vs. West Wales Raiders
Greatest winning margin
* 10, Round 2: vs. West Wales Raiders
Greatest number of games won consecutively
* 1, Round 2 (London Skolars Round 1 fixture vs. North Wales Crusaders was rearranged for 11 May)
Highest score in a losing game
* 12, Round 3: vs. Newcastle Thunder
Lowest score in a losing game
* 12, Round 3: vs. Newcastle Thunder
Greatest losing margin
* 36, Round 3: vs. Newcastle Thunder
Greatest number of games lost consecutively
* 1, Round 3

## Transfers
### In

| Name | Position | Signed from | Date |
| Liam Scott | Prop | Newcastle Thunder | November 2018 |
| Clinton Hughes | Hooker | Beerwah Bulldogs | November 2018 |
| Iliess Macani | Full back | Sheffield Eagles | November 2018 |
| Malikhi Lloyd-Jones | Centre | Coventry Bears | November 2018 |
| Joseph Burchill | Prop | Souths Logan Magpies | November 2018 |
| Richard Wilkinson | Full back | Doncaster R.L.F.C. | December 2018 |
| Xavier Rice | Hooker | Northcote Tigers | February 2019 |

### Out

| Name | Position | Club Signed | Date |
| Jy-Mel Coleman | Stand off | Newcastle Thunder | December 2018 |
| Ollie Purslow | Second row | Coventry Bears | December 2018 |