Magical weekend: London Broncos’ worries and applause for Jack Farrimond – first day in quotes | Rugby League News

We round up the best of what managers had to say on day one of the 2024 Betfred Super League Magic Weekend at Elland Road…

Broncos’ off-field situation overshadows Magic win for Eccles

Mike Eccles struggled to hide his frustration with the London Broncos’ off-field situation despite their 29-4 win over Hull FC on the first day of the 2024 Magic Weekend, which took them level on points with the second-bottom Black and Whites.

Victory in their opening game at Elland Road gave the Broncos a real chance of not finishing bottom of the Betfred Super League, but Eccles felt the club’s future had already been sealed by decisions made off the pitch.

The Broncos’ director of rugby and performance is concerned about the future of the team as a number of players are expected to leave at the end of the season.

“It’s one of those, isn’t it? If we finish bottom, everyone’s going to say, ‘Well, this is a laughing stock’ for about four minutes, and then everyone’s going to forget about it,” Eccles said of the possibility of not finishing bottom. “So yeah, it would be great to prove that point, momentarily, but it won’t change anything.

“I don’t know where we’re going to be looking next year. I said a few weeks ago, it’s a sliding-door moment for rugby league in London. It’s pretty tough behind the scenes at the moment.”

Tries from Jack Campagnolo, Oli Leyland and a brace from Josh Rourke helped the Broncos dominate the Black and Whites.

Hull FC interim manager Simon Grix was unimpressed with his side’s efforts and likened the game to a level below the Super League.

“I thought it was a standard championship game,” Grix said. “Obviously, they were the better of the two.

“They were just too good for us. It was really embarrassing for a lot of guys in that role, well, for all of us who were attached. But we have people who say the right things and don’t necessarily do them in the moment.”

Teen star Farrimond earns applause at Peat

Jack Farrimond received praise from Wigan Warriors manager Matt Peet after the defending champions secured a comfortable 20-0 win over injury-hit St Helens at Elland Road.

The 18-year-old kicked his own shot for a stunning solo try with just under 20 minutes remaining and continued his side’s impeccable response following last week’s heavy defeat across town in Leeds.

Peet believes Farrimond’s brilliant move, forming an impressive new half-back partnership with Adam Keighran in the absence of the suspended Harry Smith, could mark a turning point in the career of one of the game’s finest young talents.

“When you have a young player trying to make his way onto the team, and you know all the people are going to be watching him, it’s exciting to see that and those are the moments you want as a coach,” Peet said.

“I remember watching Sam Tomkins, George Williams and Junior Nsemba do the same thing – it’s when they first explode onto the scene and have those moments that really move you.”

Saints manager Paul Wellens believes his side can still stake their claim in the Super League play-offs despite an injury list that shows no signs of slowing down, with Curtis Sironen the latest arrival with a calf injury.

“Right after you lose to your main rivals, you keep your head down and I hope that’s the case,” Wellens said.

“But what matters is that they don’t stay down for too long. Now we have a running-in phase in which we have to put our heads down and fight as much as possible, and if we do that I think we’ll get enough points to get into the play-offs.”

Burgess: I was going to replace Dufty before the hat-trick

Sam Burgess revealed he was about to replace Matt Dufty before scoring a hat-trick to help Warrington Wolves to a 24-6 win over Leeds at the Magic Weekend.

The Wolves full-back scored three second-half goals to lead Burgess’s side to a hard-fought victory in their final game of day one.

Dufty had been in trouble earlier after a severe leg blow, but decided to continue and scored a decisive double with two quickfire tries as Leeds controversially played with 12 men shortly after half-time.

“We almost took him out about five minutes into the second half, but then something happened and the game stopped for a little bit, so we just tried to get him a little deeper into the game,” Wolves coach Burgess said. “As he continued to play, he warmed up a little bit, but he’ll be sore tomorrow.

“It’s a great demonstration of how much he’s grown tonight. He’s got a couple of things he can fix, but he’s working hard for the team. He deserves all the recognition he’s getting.”

Leeds manager Brad Arthur felt his team had been penalised by a number of decisions made by the referees, not least the dismissal of David Fusitu’a for an off-field foul on Matty Ashton.

Dufty scored his first two tries in his absence, while Leeds’ Sam Lisone and Warrington’s Rodrick Tai were later booked for their actions in a brawl.

“I don’t know what they [sin-binnings] were for, especially the one for ‘Fus,'” Arthur said. “I feel like we were getting a bit of momentum, but then at the other end we get the sin-bin and they get two tries.

“I think the control of the game has been lost [by the officials] off and on. I think both teams were frustrated.”

How can I watch Magic Weekend?

Every match this weekend will be broadcast live on Vscek Action all weekend and will be available to stream NOW.

Watch every game of the 2024 Betfred Super League season, including the Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair Play-Offs and Grand Finals, live on Vscek and Vscek+. Also stream the Super League, NRL and more on Vscek with NOW.