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 London Broncos season
Super League II Rank	2nd
Play-off result	Premiership Trophy quarter final
Challenge Cup	Fifth round
World Club Championship	Quarter-final
1997 record	Wins: 17; draws: 3; losses: 12
Points scored	For: 692; against: 515
Team information
Head Coach	Tony Currie
Stadium	The Stoop
Avg. attendance	4,941
High attendance	9,166
Top scorers
Tries	Scott Roskell - 19
Goals	Greg Barwick - 85
Points	Greg Barwick - 198
Home colours Away colours
← 1996 List of seasons 1998 →

1997 squad statistics

Squad Number	Name	Representative country	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: ^[1][2][3][4]

Super League II table

Pos	Team v t e	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

Source: Rugby League Project
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

1997 Challenge Cup

The London Broncos progressed to the fifth round of the Cup, before losing to the Bradford Bulls at The Stoop.^[5][6]

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: ^[7][8]

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: ^[9][8]