Powell insists defence is critical to Broncos revival

London Broncos coach Rob Powell believes the key to his side’s improvement is defence. 

Powell insists his side are continuing to improve as the season progresses, but says the Broncos have yet to put in a good combined defensive and attacking performance over 80 minutes.

He said: “We need to continue to defend like we have done in the last couple of weeks, because in the first few weeks of the season we attacked really well and scored lots of points but couldn’t back that up with defence.

“But in the last few weeks we’ve defended really well, but not had the offensive game to go with it. We need to marry the two together, and that’s the challenge but I know with a stronger defensive team that can get the wins.”

London will face Catalan Dragons at the Etihad Stadium this weekend, and Powell knows this game will be a stern test for his side.

Catalan came away from Widnes with only a 42-34 win, which prompted Catalan coach Trent Robinson to publically praise the Vikings for their determination and character despite losing the match.

But Powell is taking nothing for granted despite the Dragons’ mediocre performance against Widnes.

He said: “Widnes have had a few scores like that in their home games. We lost 38-30 and Wigan lost 37-36. Widnes are good at home because they train on that pitch, so I wouldn’t write too much into Catalan conceding points at that ground. Wigan got beat there and they’re the best defensive team in the league!

“Catalan are a challenging team and they’ve put on a couple of good displays in the last few rounds because they are one of the most threatening teams with the ball.

“They have a style of lay that is very challenging so we need to make sure we are at our best and we need to test where we are defensively.”