London Broncos boss Jason Demetriou hasn’t ruled out the possibility of adding more star names to his squad as the season progresses.
The Broncos have recruited heavily in the off-season with 18 signings being made as they prepare for the start of the new Championship season, which gets underway on Sunday for them with the visit of Widnes Vikings.
A chunk of those have been brought in from down under, with Regan Campbell-Gillard, Siliva Havili and Dean Hawkins being the headline names alongside Marly Bitungane and Luke Smith, who are both Perth Bears-bound, and a raft of Papua New Guinean players.
As such, it’s fair to say London are the overwhelming favourites to take the Championship crown in 2026. But, while Demetriou is more than happy with the way his side looks at present, he admits adding to his squad remains a possibility if the right player were to become available.
“Possibly,” Demetriou told Serious About Rugby League when asked if more signings can be expected of a similar ilk. “I’m pretty happy with what I’ve got at the moment but for us it’s about leaving some space to grow as well and we’ve done that.
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“We’ve got 26 contracted and we’ve still got three who are part time who are pretty good Championship players as well in Bienek and Alex Walker and Will Lovell. We’re pretty strong but if the right player comes for the right reasons we’ll have a look at it.”
On the impact the likes of former internationals Campbell-Gillard and Havili have made, he added: “They weren’t in initially at the start but once Reagan came in and Siliva after, the intensity and everything we do in training went up another level.
“You can talk about it but you need players to drive it. Reagan’s professionalism and how he trains, you could see straight away from day one that he’s been an elite player in the NRL for a reason.
“It’s not about what happens on the field, it’s what happens on the training field. He’s been immense in raising our standards and that’s why he’s been named captain. He’s leading from the front and Siliva is going to be great support for him but Dean Hawkins has been really exciting as well.”
London Broncos boss on his Papua New Guinea future
Demetriou doesn’t lack coaching experience and he joins London less than two years after bringing his stint in charge of South Sydney Rabbitohs to an end back in April 2024. In the time that has passed since, the coach has taken charge of the Papua New Guinea national team and he has confirmed that he intends to juggle both roles or the time being and take the Kumuls into the World Cup this autumn.
“I’m contracted until the end of the World Cup,” he added. “I absolutely love coaching the Kumuls, it’s experience I’ll always remember.
“It was always about getting to the World Cup and having a successful World Cup so I’ll do that and then beyond that I’m not sure but if I can keep both jobs I’ll definitely do it.”
