Australian rugby league great Darren Lockyer is fronting up the consortium looking to takeover at London Broncos, it has been revealed.
Lockyer is synonymous with Brisbane Broncos and he currently a board member at the NRL club. However, he sees plenty of potential in London Broncos and he is part of a group trying to buy a majority stake in the Championship club.
Alongside business partner Grant Wechsel, Lockyer will fly to the capital on Friday to meet officials from both London Broncos and the RFL, with the takeover now at the due diligence stage, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Of course, Leeds Rhinos CEO Gary Hetherington is currently at the Broncos helm and plans to cut ties with Leeds permanently at the end of the season to take London into a bright new era.
And, the investment from down under would certainly help as the Broncos look to try recover as a brand, reclaim a spot in Super League and establish themselves as a force outside the traditional rugby league heartlands.
What Lockyer’s takeover would mean for plans such as rebranding given his ties to the Broncos remains to be seen, but an affiliation with Brisbane has not been ruled out.
The report claims that Lockyer and Wechsel have gone as far as to draw up a list of potential coaching candidates with Jason Demetriou one of those mentioned.
“It’s an exciting opportunity,” Lockyer said told the Daily Telegraph. “I think the London Broncos can do a lot for international rugby league, so that’s one major attraction for me.”
“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.
“My business partner Grant is great at growing and building businesses. He sees it as a challenge too and if we can get the on-field performance where it needs to be and the business reaches its potential, it can be a huge success.”
He added: “I’m aware of what Ryan Reynolds did with Wrexham FC and Tom Brady is involved with 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.
“I’m entrepreneurial, so is Grant, and when something is put across your desk and you have knowledge of an industry and you think you are capable of doing it, there is that desire to get involved.”
