Sunday's win over Toronto confirmed promotion for Broncos
Monday 8 October 2018 14:28, UK
London Broncos coach Danny Ward intends to keep faith with the players who earned promotion to Super League for the 2019 campaign.
Ward, who has taken the Broncos back to the top flight in his first season as head coach, hopes to add "a bit of quality" but says he is happy to reward the players who defied all expectations by finishing runners-up in the Championship and winning the Million Pound Game.
One of the first names on his Super League squad list will be full-back Alex Walker, who was named as man of the match in the Broncos' nailbiting 4-2 win over Toronto Wolfpack at the Lamport Stadium on Sunday, despite dislocating three fingers inside the first minute of the match.
"It was an unbelievable effort from the kid, he was outstanding all game," Ward said.
"It was brave but it was a Grand Final, you just have to stay out there. I couldn't take him off, I didn't have another full-back. A bit of strapping and he just cracked on."
Walker, a Scotland international who made his Super League debut during London's relegation season in 2014, is among a group of promising youngsters who have been brought through the club's junior system and who will now be given the chance to prove their worth at the highest level.
"He's really improved," Ward added. "He is one of a few good young London kids coming through and he's made the full-back spot his own.
"I'll sit down with the owners and the chief exec this week to look at next year but I'm happy to put my faith in this squad.
"I can't see wholesale changes, we'll add a bit of quality but I want to work with this group of players even more so at Super League level."
Broncos will receive £1m extra in central funding as a result of promotion and will be given special dispensation by the Rugby Football League (RFL) to remain at the Ealing Trailfinders Sports Ground, which has a current ground capacity of just 3,020.
The team were already planning to erect a new stand in the winter to add a further 1,040 seats - which would will enable the ground to meet the RFL minimum requirement of 2,000 for Super League.
Watch Wigan v Warrington in the Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford on Saturday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena from 5pm.
