Gravesend-born forward takes over Broncos captaincy
Last week saw Gravesend-born Tony Clubb, who will celebrate his 26th birthday on Wednesday (June 12), named as the new captain of the London Broncos after play-maker Craig Gower resigned the position following defeat to the Catalan Dragons at the ‘Magic Weekend’.Speaking after his appointment as skipper, Clubb, now the longest serving player with the London-based outfit, said "Like I said to the boys nothing changes for me. I'll still go out and do my job the way I do it. Whether it's leading the team out or not, nothing changes for me.
"When Tony asked me I was a bit shocked as I never saw myself in that light as a captain to be asked was an honour and I grabbed it with both hands.
"I'm looking forward to it. When I got asked to captain the team it was a proud moment for me and my family.”
Head Coach Tony Rea added "Tony has all the attributes of a leader. He's been in the system for eight years, leads from the front and is a proud Londoner. He has other attributes the team can look to in the heat of battle.”
Tony, a former apprentice mechanic, has been playing Rugby League since he was 13 after switching codes from Union.
The 6’ forward made his Harlequins debut from the bench aged 18 in an 18-18 Super League draw against the Bradford Bulls at Odsal on February 18 2006.
Clubb made his try scoring debut as a substitute for England in a 74-0 victory over Wales at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium in October 2008 and he went on to add caps against France in June 2009 and Papua New Guinea (November 2010).
In the latter game played at Eden Park in Christchurch, a Four Nations tournament fixture, he scored four tries from his position at Centre as Steve McNamara’s side won 36-10.
This season has unfortunately been disrupted by illness and injury, he tore knee ligaments against Bradford on Easter Monday, and his one try came in a ‘home’ defeat by the Catalan Dragons at Molesey Road in Hersham back in March.
However last weekend saw him return to first-team action, his first start of the season, in the 30-30 home draw with the Castleford Tigers.
Tony has scored 47 tries in 151 appearances for the London club, initially under the Harlequins moniker, and of course more recently the Broncos after they reverted to their former name in 2012.