The sport has broken new ground in Kent, London and beyond, but will it lose momentum if the Broncos go down?
By Gavin Willacy for No Helmets Required
While derbies dominated Super League last weekend, a little bit of history was being made in, of all places, north Kent. Despite the prospect of getting home at 3am, a hearty bunch of Castleford supporters made the trip to the Kuflink Stadium in the south-east corner of England for their match against London Broncos. A raucous group clad in Tex Hoy-themed Hawaiian shirts waved inflatable bananas throughout their 34-20 win. Those who watched on Sky saw bunches of Kent folk cheering on Super League players reared by local junior clubs such as Medway Dragons, Bromley Bengals and Invicta Panthers.
While their home in Wimbledon is reseeded, the Broncos have gone on an annual summer day out to Ebbsfleet United, a shabby-chic venue where dock cranes on the Thames estuary dot the horizon and Eurostar trains fly past the car park. Kent last hosted a Cas game 40 years ago, when they visited Maidstone for a Challenge Cup tie against flash-in-the-pan club Kent Invicta. More recently, the county has become a source of talent for a sport spreading its roots across England.
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