LONDON BRONCOS had a couple of high-profile crossover supporters as they kicked off a new era with their 44-12 Championship win over Widnes.

The club, whose profile has been significantly raised since a takeover by Brisbane Broncos legend Darren Lockyer and his business partner Grant Wechsel, who have targeted a return to Super League, announced an attendance of 4,380.

And among the observers at the Cherry Red Records Stadium in Wimbledon were football manager Ange Postecoglou and former Chelsea and Netherlands striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

As well as Tottenham Hotspur, former Australia defender and coach Postecoglou’s plentiful list of managerial stop-offs includes Brisbane Roar in the Australian top flight.

Sacked by Nottingham Forest in October, the 60-year-old is currently taking a break but has been linked with a return to Glasgow giants Celtic, with whom he won the Scottish title in 2022 and 2023, sealing a domestic treble in that second season.

He has spoken of tapping into the knowledge and experience of fellow coaches from a number of sports, including Rugby League. 

Hasselbaink, who also played for Leeds United and Middlesbrough among other teams, has managed a number of clubs, including Queens Park Rangers, and had a stint on the England coaching staff which took in the 2024 European Championship, when Gareth Southgate’s side reached the final.

The 53-year-old appeared on last year’s hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing.

The London-Widnes match was also attended by social-media influencer ‘Big John’ Fisher.

The 52-year-old from Romford, nicknamed ‘the Boshfather’, is well-known for his viral fast-food reviews on Instagram and TikTok.

Fisher, with around 700,000 followers on Instagram, 500,000 on TikTok and 80,000 on X (formerly Twitter), also visited the Broncos at Hazelwood, the impressive former London Irish rugby union training base in Surrey, which they have acquired since the Lockyer-Wechsel takeover, in the build-up to the Widnes game.

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