Possible London Broncos name change revealed in Gary Hetherington admission

London Broncos supremo Gary Hetherington has revealed that a rebrand to London Rugby League is one of the considerations in the mix for their possible name change in 2026.

Hetherington revealed when he concluded his takeover of London last month that a rebrand was one of a number of options to help take the club to the next level.

The response to that was certainly mixed, with many feeling the Broncos moniker is the strongest the club has had during its existence.

But Hetherington cited initial resistance to Leeds’ name change to the Rhinos in the 1990s as an example of how a difficult decision can yield positive outcomes.

And he revealed a ‘fairly prominent person’ in the media has already brought the idea of rebranding to London Rugby League to him – and that it is one of several options on the table: including keeping things as they are.

He told a fans forum this week: “For us, it is being researched and ultimately no decision has been made and everyone needs to have an opinion and give it to me.

“It may well be (changed), and I was with a fairly prominent person the other day who came up with a very well-reasoned recommendation as to what the name should be.

“I thought, well, I never really thought about that, but it was a well-presented argument. We need as many of those as possible. We need to think about it and ultimately make a decision in the best interests of the club.”

Hetherington was then pushed on what the name could be and whether he would reveal it. He said: “Well, since you’ve asked me the question, I will, yes.

“I won’t give you the name of the person I’m talking to, but he’s a very prominent person in the media, he’s a rugby league fan, and he’s not an Englishman.

“But he was saying, in his opinion, the name should be simply London Rugby League. I said to him thank you very much for your suggestion and that it needs to be in the melting pot like all the other suggestions.”

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