Lions suffer capital pain after blitz from London
A 36-POINT second-half blitz from London condemned Swinton to defeat in the capital, but it was a spirited showing from Stuart Littler’s side.
With Josh Barlow suspended and injuries mounting up, the Lions boss was forced to shuffle the deck, which meant Chris Hankinson lined up at stand-off and there was a left centre-wing partnership of Craig Mullen and Joe Brown, both on dualregistration from Wigan Warriors.
Hankinson started the game superbly in his unfamiliar position, showing up strongly in defence and scoring his side’s first try to make it 6-4 to Swinton after just 10 minutes.
Two tries from Joe Brown brought the Lions level at 16-apiece with seconds to go to half-time, but the mercurial Jarrod Sammut crossed as the hooter sounded to give the Broncos at 22-16 lead at the break – and one they never looked like surrendering from that point.
Brown completed his hat-trick in the closing stages, but it was nothing more than a consolation as London ran out 58-22 winners.
In the delayed kick-off, Rochdale hosted Toulouse, but could do little to halt the French side’s run of superb form.
Jack Fox and Lewis Hatton crossed for Hornets, but Olympique ran in 13 tries on their way to a 70-14 victory.
Leigh maintained their promotion push with a 58-12 away win over Dewsbury, thanks to doubles from Drew Hutchison and Craig Hall, plus scores from Liam Hood, Ricky Bailey, Daniel Mortimer, Bodene Thompson, Harrison Hansen and Kevin Larroyer.
In League 1, Oldham slipped to a disappointing defeat away to Hunslet. Roughyeds led 12-6 at halftime thanks to tries from Luke Hooley and Matty Wilkinson, but found themselves on the wrong end of a 16-12 final scoreline. PEP Guardiola’s third summer transfer window at City will be his calmest yet.
Even as deals for Jorginho and Riyad Mahrez grow ever-more protracted, the Catalan ended the season with complete clarity over his transfer targets and confidence they would be secured. Crucially, City’s manager is convinced his two priority players are determined and focused to move to the Etihad.
Compare that to last summer when Dani Alves had his head turned by Paris St Germain and Kylian Mbappe was also being courted by the French giants along with City and Real Madrid.
Amid all of that, Guardiola faced a fight to prise Alexis Sanchez away from Arsenal – a very different prospect to dealing with Napoli or Leicester – as well as undergoing a dramatic overhaul of his defence.
Last summer was vital to the incredible season that followed, with deals for Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy fraught with difficulty.
Wind the clock forward 12 months and City are in the luxurious position of knowing they need only fine tune a squad that galloped away with the title.
Guardiola has made it clear to the club’s hierarchy that additions are vital – but the reality is they would likely head into the new campaign with the strongest squad even without stepping into the transfer market.
That is not expected to be an issue.
City are close to a breakthrough over Jorginho, with a fee expected to be agreed with Napoli imminently for the Italian midfielder.
Leicester are continuing to drive a hard bargain over Mahrez but are doing so against the backdrop of the Algerian’s utter determination to make a move happen. City have proved they will walk away from deals if the price is not right – no matter how much Guardiola admires a player. Guardiola is said to have told the club to wrap up the Mahrez transfer before a rival steps in – maintaining his interest even after failing to secure a January deal. But he was similarly focused on Alexis Sanchez, only for City to refuse to pay the financial package required to land the Chilean. City have remained adamant they will not go above their £60m valuation of Mahrez. The question is whether Leicester can find another suitor willing to trump that figure, or a club the player is prepared to choose ahead of a move to the champions. Both are unlikely. Which is why City find themselves in such a comfortable position, compared to Guardiola’s previous windows.