Broncos' Bowker: it ain't Baker

One of London Broncos' eleven close season signings is a young man whose recent rugby league journey is quite complicated. But it's not so much the 'journey' that is causing confusion, but rather the 'name'.

Radney (not Rodney) Bowker (not Baker) was born in Billinge but grew up in Leigh, where he made more than 50 appearances with the Centurions.

After a five-minute stopover at St Helens, where he 'technically' made his Super League debut off the bench in one game in 2001, he moved on to Barrow.

And after playing 37 games with the Barrow Border Raiders in 2002, he then moved on to Salford City Reds for the 2003 season, but was then sent on loan to Rochdale last year, where he played 18 games scoring 10 tries.

So 'technically', Radney made his top-flight debut against St Helens (London Broncos Super League opponent this Saturday night), but he made his 'starting' debut last Sunday in London's Challenge Cup win over Salford.

Confused?

Now time for the name. There have been many instances in Radney's career (even the Microsoft 'spell-check' is having problems here) where his name has been mis-spelt, mis-pronounced, and/or totally misunderstood.

"I often get Rodney Bowker and then sometimes it's Rodney Baker, but you just get used to it," the tall blonde stand-off explained.

He added: "But with the game live on Sky and all, I just hope Eddie & Stevo get it right on the night."

Other news:

Ticketing Manager, Stacy Roth is excited about her first Super League game. "People keep talking about the glitz and glamour of the Tetley's Super League and I'm quite looking forward to it.

Since I joined the club in January there has been a lot of effort planning this game. And when I look at the level of pre-sales we've had, it's very encouraging to see that the message is getting out there."

Team as follows:

Paul Sykes, Jon Wells, Rob Jackson, Mark O'Halloran, Nigel Roy, Radney Bowker, Dennis Moran, Steve Trindall, Neil Budworth, Steele Retchless, (Andrew Hart), Joe Mbu, Jim Dymock ?

Substitutes: Andrew Brocklehurst, Tommy Haughey, Mitch Stringer, Francis Stephenson, (Andrew McNally)

London Broncos first home game in Tetley's Super League IX is against St Helens at 6pm on Saturday 6th March at Griffin Park - tickets for this big season opener can now be bought online at www.londonbroncos.co.uk or through the ticket booking hotline: 0871 222 1657.

Advance ticket sales will close at 5.30pm tomorrow. There will be some tickets available to purchase at the turnstile, however, the 'prime' viewing areas continue to sell well.

Gates open at 4.30pm.