A rich history, an exciting future and a bold present will converge for two clubs when London Broncos and Brisbane Broncos train against each other in England's capital ahead of the World Club Challenge.
Brisbane will play Hull KR for the prestigious trophy next week but club legend Darren Lockyer, now a co-owner of London with business partner Grant Wechsel, can envisage a time when a London v Brisbane showdown in the World Club Challenge becomes a reality.
"That's obviously a long way off at the moment but that is the objective," Lockyer told AAP.
"We are on a journey now and we just want to keep improving on and off the field. One day, if the Brisbane Broncos are playing London in a World Club Challenge that would be a huge moment."
London trained against the Kangaroos when Australia played England in the recent Ashes series. Brisbane are next on the list later this week.
"They are going to have a bit of an opposed session which is big news for the London club because Brisbane is probably the most recognised rugby league brand in the world," Lockyer said.
"We have got six PNG kids in our London squad that our coach Jason Demetriou took over there and some of those guys had never left Papua New Guinea. Now they are living in London and will be training against some of their absolute idols.
"(Brisbane CEO) Dave Donaghy has been really good at acknowledging London and trying to work with us … so London is doing their part to help Brisbane prepare for a big trophy."
Founding Brisbane director and investor Barry Maranta once also owned the London Broncos during the Super League war in the mid-1990s.
Brisbane and London played each other twice, home and away, in the World Club Challenge of 1997 when the competition had a unique round robin and finals format.
Brisbane won the trophy that year and at a time when London had former Brisbane premiership winners Tony Currie (coach) and Terry Matterson (lock) involved.
"This football club was created in 1980 and has had a few iterations around names and branding," Lockyer said.
"Barry Maranta was still involved with Brisbane when he was the guy that converted them into the London Broncos.
"When Barry sold to Richard Branson, it lost that (Brisbane) connection. There is an opportunity now to reconnect.
"The London Broncos were created by Barry but the word London is rare in a sporting franchise. The IP of London and obviously the Broncos could have been lost to the game. So for me, having the Broncos involved in the name with all that history was one of the big reasons we jumped in there.
"London had recently lost its support from its wealthy owner and was looking a bit sketchy there for a while and hanging by a thread. Grant and I have been able to stabilise the club and start building our performance programs and commercial team."
London, who will compete in the second tier Championship this season, aim to win their division and return to the Super League and build from there.
"We are really happy with where the football program sits and Jason Demetriou has been outstanding," Lockyer said.
"I want rugby league to be the best version it can be, not just in this country but in the world. Having a strong London team is a great outcome for the game."
There is no official link between Brisbane and London with regard to player movement and interchange, but in future that could change.
"It is not on the agenda right now but maybe in time that connection can get stronger and that alignment can grow," Lockyer said.
