London Broncos LOSE in RFL Championship for first time in shock

London Broncos have lost in the Championship for the first time in 2026, with title rivals Oldham picking up a thrilling and crucial win to inflict defeat on Jason Demetriou’s side.

London looked odds-on to go throughout 2026 with a perfect winning record – but that has now been brought to an abrupt end by Alan Kilshaw’s side at Boundary Park on Sunday afternoon after a superb second half performance from Oldham.

The scores were level at 18-18 at half-time, with London gifting possession to the Roughyeds right on half-time which led to Ben O’Keefe scoring. Prior to that, London looked as though they would go into the break four points ahead after tries for Josh Drinkwater and Luke Forber.

But within the first ten minutes of the second half, Forber scored twice to complete his hat-trick and put Oldham in control of proceedings. Jake Bibby then scored with 12 minutes left to put the hosts ahead by three scores.

London rallied late on, with Ben Hursey-Hord scoring but it wasn’t enough, and the Broncos would ultimately suffer their first defeat in the league in 2026 – and only their second after losing to Bradford in the Challenge Cup at the start of the year.

That win means Oldham are now still well and truly in the race for second spot and the opening week of the play-offs off. They are level on points with Newcastle Thunder, with the pair four clear of nearest challengers Doncaster – who beat Midlands – with just two games left.

Play-off race to go to wire

There are now, realistically, three clubs vying for the final two spots inside the play-offs as a result.

Batley’s dramatic West Yorkshire derby over Keighley Cougars means they are closing in on a play-off spot with just two rounds left. Connor Sayner looked to have won a thrilling game for the Cougars when he scored in the final minute – but somehow, Batley rallied and Nyle Flynn scored with seconds remaining to win it for the Bulldogs. They are four clear inside the top ten.

And Whitehaven are now almost there too, five points clear of 11th-placed Dewsbury, who have three games remaining, after beating the Rams 34-12 on Sunday afternoon.

Halifax Panthers were involved in a thrilling game with Widnes, but the Vikings came out on top to win a classic at The Shay 11-10. They are fifth, and could still yet finish fourth by the end of the regular season at the start of next month with Tom Gilmore’s drop goal turning out to be crucial for Allan Coleman’s side.

Swinton Lions inflicted another big loss on North Wales Crusaders, while Sheffield Eagles solidified their spot inside the top ten with a victory over Hunslet by just two points in another thrilling game for the second tier – which is now heading towards an exciting conclusion.

Championship results: Sunday August 16