Bryant set for retirement
London Broncos forward Mark Bryant would like to finish his rugby league career with a Wembley appearance, after announcing he will retire at the end of the 2013 season.
Bryant, 32, joined the Broncos for the 2012 campaign having previously played for Crusaders in the UK along with Manly and Canberra in the NRL.
The prop, who has made over 50 appearances for the Broncos, admits that retirement was a difficult decision to make.
He said, “It’ll be the end of a 12-year professional career, it was a big decision. I’ve played league since I was seven or eight years old so it’s something I’ve done my whole life.
“I think it’s the right time, it’s time to take my little family home and to get back with extended family. My wife’s recent battle with cancer was a thing that put life into perspective a lot for us, so I’m looking forward to retirement.
“I’m really proud to have played with London, I’m really proud to have been one of the guys who has been fighting, obviously we are up against it quite a bit with where we’re situated on the map against the northern teams, so I’m proud of what we’ve done and hopefully what we can do at the weekend.
“I’ll spend a lot of time with family but I need to earn a crust. I got my real estate licence during the last three years while I was at Manly and I’ve made a lot of contacts throughout the years so I’ll move seamlessly into that. I think it’ll be a shock as it’s been a long while out of the normal workforce.”
Bryant says a Wembley appearance would be a dream come true, not only for him but also the club and most significantly the Broncos fans.
“Wembley would be unbelievable; it’s every player’s dream to go out on a big stage and close out your career with a big game. They don’t come much bigger than a Challenge Cup Final.
“Obviously we’ve got a tough game this week against Wigan, they are a very good side and they’ve been a great side for a couple of years now. It’ll be a dream come true and a dream to do it for this club and our chairman and give our fans something to sing about.
“I’ve played in a few big games in my career and you don’t really want to think too much about them, obviously we’ll concentrate on the first job and then let the excitement come if we put in the hard yards and get there. At the moment we’re just thinking about Wigan but it would be an absolute dream to reach Wembley.”