Rugby League: Big incentive for Broncos

ON THE weekend that begins the third season of Super League, contrasting fortunes in last week's Challenge Cup semi-finals will be a major factor.

No side has more to prove than the London Broncos, so disappointing in their defeat by Wigan. "If people want to write us off after that, then they're welcome," said their prop, Mark Carroll. "But this is a new competition now and we'll do our talking on the pitch."

Nobody understands the new competition, with its emphasis on making the top five and going forward to the play-offs, better than Carroll, who has played in the last three Australian Grand Finals.

"It's the best system for sure and it will really catch the imagination," he said.

London will make changes for their game against Halifax tomorrow, with Tulsen Tollett likely to move to scrum-half and the Cup-tied Luke Goodwin coming in at stand-off, with Butch Fatnowna moving to full-back. The contest at The Stoop will be intensified by Halifax's conviction that they "was robbed" there in the Cup five weeks ago.

The other semi-final losers, Salford, have a demanding opener at home to St Helens. The Salford coach, Andy Gregory, has been searching for a new forward to add fluency to his side's work up the middle and will perhaps be relieved not to be facing the injured Keiron Cunningham, Apollo Perelini and Vila Matautia. The 18-year-old John Hamilton makes his debut at hooker in place of Cunningham.

There will be a contrast in moods at Sheffield, where the Wembley-bound Eagles host a Hull side whose preparation for their Super League debut cannot have been helped by last week's uncertainties over who, if anyone, was going to run the club.

Hull's new captain, Alan Hunte, insists that the players will concentrate on their jobs, but opposition as confident as Sheffield will be a searching test of their ability to compete at this level. They will be without their Cook Islands prop, Jason Temu, suspended for two matches for a high tackle.

Wigan, back to their awesome best against the Broncos, will be a gauge of how much Castleford have improved under Stuart Raper. Cas have been trying to duplicate the preparation that saw them record Cup victories over Leeds and Bradford and they have no shortage of players who know their way around Central Park.

The ex-Wigan players Mike Ford, Richard Russell, Barrie-Jon Mather, Danny Ellison and Gael Tallec are all in their 18-man squad. The current Wigan team is ominously at full strength.

Iestyn Harris will captain Leeds against Warrington, the club that sold him exactly a year ago. The prop forward and Emmerdale actor, Adam Fogerty, could be in Warrington's line-up.