Demetriou hails pre-season plan as London Broncos secure 1985 Cup final berth

London Broncos utility Finley Glare makes a line break during the 1985 Cup semi-final against Midlands Hurricanes. Broncos won 62-24 *(Image: Mediapac Sports)*

London Broncos head coach Jason Demetriou revealed that a targeted, pre-season motivation fueled his side's charge into their first-ever 1895 Cup final, following a dominant 62-24 semi-final victory over the Midlands Hurricanes on Sunday.

Demetriou said the club prioritized the tournament in January, making the achievement a critical milestone for his squad’s campaign.

"We put these things in the calendar when the draw came out at the start of the year and it was a cup we wanted to win," Demetriou said. "Sometimes the hardest thing to win these type of things is to get to the final, and we've done that now. The boys are excited."

The Broncos will face the Widnes Vikings in the final on Monday, August 31, after the Vikings secured their own progression on Monday with an emphatic 52-0 shutout against the Rochdale Hornets. The matchup guarantees a brand-new name will be engraved on the trophy, as Widnes fell short in their only previous final appearance in 2019.

While Demetriou spoke proudly in securing the final berth, he conceded that the performance was not entirely seamless. London held a modest 24-12 lead at first half before executing a high-intensity second-stanza strategy.

The Broncos head coach credited the underdogs for a disruptive tactical approach that kept the favorites under pressure throughout the opening 40 minutes.

"It probably wasn't as clinical as you would have liked it to be," Demetriou said. "I want to give Midlands a lot of credit. They didn't just roll over. They came and tried to play a different style of footy. And I liked that… if they play like that for the rest of the year, they're going to win a lot more games."

The decisive shift in momentum followed a blunt halftime intervention in the locker room, where Demetriou challenged his players to abandon conservative execution and embrace a game plan.

"I spoke to the players at halftime about just going after the intensity that we play at and challenging our skill and backing our skill," Demetriou said. "And in the second half, I felt we were clinical, to be fair."

The response was a multi-try blitz anchored by winger Brandon Webster-Mansfield, who finished with a four-try haul to completely dismantle the Hurricanes' defensive structures and validate the coach's tactical adjustments.