Darren Lockyer explains why he wants to buy London Broncos in shock move

Rugby league legend Darren Lockyer is travelling to England to explore a deal to purchase London Broncos – and has explained why he wants to restore them to the top of the sport.

The Broncos are pushing for re-entry to Super League in 2026 but their case could now be significantly helped after shock reports from Australia via Code Sports that Lockyer is heading up a consortium that are looking to do a deal to buy the Championship club.

He and his business partner are heading to London on Friday to begin a due diligence process and while no deal is guaranteed, Lockyer admits he has been inspired by the likes of Ryan Reynolds and Tom Brady’s success at Wrexham and Birmingham City respectively.

But he admitted his main reason for buying the Broncos was clear: “It’s an exciting opportunity. I think the London Broncos can do a lot for international rugby league, so that’s one major attraction for me.”

Lockyer continued: “I like the challenge of turning the club around and getting them back to the Super League. We’re off to London tomorrow. We’re obviously keen for the London Broncos to get back into Super League and we’re going to have a look over the weekend and continue our due diligence.

“I’m aware of what Ryan Reynolds did with Wrexham FC and Tom Brady is involved in Birmingham. But we always joke that Grant isn’t a billionaire and I wouldn’t tie Tom Brady’s shoelaces. There’s been these examples in world sport of turning clubs around and one lesson I’ve learned from Tom Brady is if you have the work ethic and the resources, you can get a business to grow.”

He warned that no deal was guaranteed and that the trip to England would be significant.

He said: “The London trip will be a defining moment. It will either give us confidence it can work or whether it’s too much risk. We can visualise how we want it to look like but whether that’s achievable or not is another thing and we’ll know that in the next two weeks.”

Lockyer is looking at former Wakefield Trinity star Jason Demetriou as a possible head coaching candidate, according to the reports.

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