WARD ON A SMILE HIGH
by GARETH WALKER
EIGHTEEN months ago rookie London coach Danny Ward told his Championship squad they were all good enough to play in Super League.
Last Friday his promoted Broncos, with 14 of them having played in the second tier last season, won at Leeds – their third win of the campaign already.
London, almost universally tipped to finish bottom before a ball was kicked, have also beaten Wakefield and champions Wigan.
They have done so with a smile on their faces under the charismatic Ward, a former Grand Final-winning prop who admits he didn’t consider coaching until relatively late.
His loyalty towards the unheralded Eddie Battye and a host of homegrown players like Alex Walker and Will Lovell is paying rich dividends.
He said: “When I took over I told the squad they were all capable of being Super League players. One of the reasons we did so well last year was that the boys had been playing together for a while.
“Plus I’m a tight Yorkshireman – I spend the budget like it’s my own!
“Some lads had played Super League regularly before like Jay Pitts and Elliot Kear, but not for a few years, and some younger blokes had played a bit but not week in, week out.
“Some have stepped up well and some are still getting to grips with the intensity of it. That’s what it’s been about – developing those lads, working hard and learning to get better.”
Ward is confident that approach will see his side stay grounded, starting with Sunday’s visit of Hull.
He added: “To win the first game against Wakefield was a real confidence booster.
“The lads had been written off by everybody and that did them the world of good.
“We’ve won a couple more games since then but there’s a lot of improvement in us and we’re certainly not satisfied with winning three games.” WARRINGTON forward Ben Westwood will sit out the next four matches for his head butt on Wigan’s Morgan Escare. The Wolves back rower was shown a red card in Friday’s clash.