A must win game for the Dons.

There are some key games being played before then:

Sunday 9th July: Midlands v Hunslet; Oldham v N Wales
Sunday 16th July: Hunslet v Oldham

Later games:

Sunday 23rd July: Dewsbury v N Wales

Sunday 30th July: Hunslet v Dewsbury; Workington v Dons

Current Table:

Dews: 14, 27, +376
Dons: 12, 20, +154
Huns: 12, 18, +198
Oldh: 12, 17, +208
Work: 11, 14, +114

We could do with Midlands and N Wales doing us a favour this weekend by taking points off Hunslet and Oldham

The teams who started the day in 3rd, 4th & 5th all won

Midlands Hurricanes 22 Hunslet 54
Oldham 37 Crusaders 24
Workington 40 Rochdale 12

Nobody doing us any favours there then! Hunslet also improved their points diff by a nice margin.

N Wales seem to be improving and could well pose a serious threat when we go to their place.

Hunslet 2nd and with 76 more points difference...
OK a game in hand...
I warned of this possibility...but somebody said...'I'm not looking behind!'
I think Hunslet can beat Oldham and Dewsbury...and Dewsbury will come down to ours as champions...totally relaxed...like Keighley did last season.
We ain't gonna finish second.
And if we lose tricky games at Worky or North Wales or both...we certainly won't.
We can win...but we can't win big!
That could come and bite us once again.
Crap points difference!
I also think if we don't start properly...we will be 12 -18 points adrift of Hurricanes inside the first 20 mins.
Gloomy yes.....but we will see...

It’s never easy being a Dons fan, is it?

S/O, I can’t remember anyone saying we should only look up, not down. Ironically, they were right! We need to look up now to see if we can catch Hunslet!

The structure of our relatively uncompetitive 10 team league means that in order to win the league you can’t really afford to lose more than two matches. Although, we’ve won 10 out of 12, it feels as though we’re on the brink of failing should we lose another one.

In a post after the Hunslet defeat, I wrote:

I'd say Dewsbury have a 95% chance of going up with Dons, Oldham and Hunslet each having around a 35% chance. (95 + 35 +35 +35 = 200)

If my 35% assessment is about right, promotion is less likely than likely. This explains why most of us are probably feeling a little more downbeat than we’d like.

I think the underlying reasons for the way we feel is that we know from our performances that we’re more vulnerable than we perhaps look on paper. As S/O said, our points difference is inferior, we’re capable of leaking points to a 12-man Skolars team, and we don’t seem able to play to our best for a full 80 minutes.

It’s not all doom and gloom because should we avoid defeat in our remaining games, if Hunslet beat Dewsbury, we could still finish top providing we beat Dewsbury at home. It feels like a tough ask but it’s still possible.

If we drop points before Dewsbury, it’s quite likely that we might need to beat Dewsbury to finish second.

Considering how Hunslet had the upper-hand over us recently, we don’t want to have to play them at their place again. This is perhaps what would happen if we finished third. I thought we were a shade lucky when we narrowly beat them 18-16 at home earlier in the season.

The Hunslet v Oldham game is key next weekend. An Oldham win would probably be preferable for us.

We really need to do a job on Midlands and show we can play for 80 minutes, improve our points diff, and get on the front foot for the Worky and N Wales games. The N Wales concerns me most but Worky won’t be a pushover at their place.

If we’re going to get promoted, we need to improve match-by-match between now and the end of the season. If we don't, we could be consigned to this league for another season.

You wouldn't have seen that post DM it was on Facebook...the usual shut up post that you get when one strays from the party line.
But I was right....beware Hunslet I said...everyone was banging on about Oldham and the real threat was Hunslet.
Well as you say...the Skolars game took the wind out of my sails ...and Oldham away returned it...until Hunslet.

Horne and the old boys brigade at club doncaster know whatever happens their jobs are safe, there's zero accountability hence very little communication and even less passion showed! There's too many people associated with the club that are bubble wrapped and untouchable. When changes are obvious or a bold statement is needed we put a plaster over a leaking dam!

Not sure about Horne thinking his job is safe....it's not.
Thornton got fired, granted Gary is no brown noser, and I could see a fall out with CH and him.
But RH is too amiable for a fall out and his record is the right side of average.
So I think he and CH will probably rub along well...
But if he fails this time...he can be looking at CH changing his mind.
Anyway I bet he has a back-up plan...

6 seasons of failure and were still no closer to promotion, which other club that sets it heart on moving up a division would of kept with the coach?

Our mission is self-sustainabilty...promotion would be a nice bonus.
We have a budget and when you pay peanuts you get monkeys as they say.
All the League 1 clubs are pretty much hand to mouth and none of them is going anywhere including who gets promoted this year.
The Dons are never going anywhere....that boat sailed years ago.
But we get to watch reasonably good rugby without looking over our shoulders.
I really don't know why I bang on about the Dons year after year...Doncaster is a backwater since it lost its industries...it's a place of warehouses....

PS
Self- sustainability means (in my book) making sure the management's salaries are not put in danger...

Still, good news about the new caterers

Wait until next season when it's £5 extra to use this service!

New caterers might bring better service and a better range of products...however they will certainly adopt current silly prices and probably raise them.
Hunslet sold me a good pint of ale for £3.80...
I sup in town at value prices and leave the car at home.
Not gonna waste my money on concourse ale...
But that is just me....thank goodness many think differently.

Maybe we'll get some more points from IMG?



Unless I'm desperately dehydrated (unable to walk up the steps without potentially collapsing) or freezing cold (in danger of frostbite due to leaving seventh layer of clothing at home) I never go near the catering facilities.

I'm a tight old bugger though. There are enough ways to get ripped off in this world without paying silly stadium prices.



It'll be interesting to see if prices do go up... correction, it'll be interesting to see by how much prices go up with the new caterers on the premises.

I'll be honest I wasn't being entirely serious.

And wait til S-O finds out they knocked 50p off the drinks in the top bar the Dons fans were in before the Hunslet game

Oh heck...

Best delete that Jemmo before S/O reads it! LOL!

Nope ...I read it alright.
We supped with the Keighley supporters in the bar near the turnstiles...it was £3:80 in there.
We had one in the viewing bar at half time and I payed by card so never noticed the price there.

If I saved 50p per pint then that is good.
Bumped into Jemmo as we went in.

Molson Coors to be the drinks supplier at the Eco Power https://www.doncasterroversfc.co.uk/new ... wery-deal/ So Carling, Madri and Worthingtons.

Molson Coors to be the drinks supplier at the Eco Power https://www.doncasterroversfc.co.uk/new ... wery-deal/ So Carling, Madri and Worthingtons.

Current Table:
Dews: 14, 27, +376
Huns: 13, 20, +230
Dons: 12, 20, +154
Oldh: 13, 19, +221
Work: 12, 16, +142
N Wal: 13, 10, +59

Big game this Sunday 16th July: Hunslet v Oldham at 3pm.

An Oldham win seems to be the best outcome for the Dons.

Hunslet v Dewsbury is on 30th July.

He was happy then

Every reason to be....until that shambles of a second half...

Hunslet beat Oldham 21-8. Beryl kicked four goals.

Cornwall beat Midlands 28-8.

N Wales 24, Worky 32.

The table is now:

Dews: 14, 27, +376
Huns: 14, 22, +243
Dons: 12, 20, +154
Oldh: 14, 19, +208
Work: 13, 18, +150

Providing we win at least four of our last six games, Oldham can't catch us.

Dons games: Midlands (H), Workington (A), N Wales (A), London (A), Cornwall (H), Dewsbury (H).

Assuming we'll beat Midlands, London and Cornwall, we'll have to beat one of the other three. Surely, we'll do that? We shouldn't finish worse than third.

Dewsbury need to win three out of their last four to be assured of being champions. They've got to play:

N Wales (H), Hunslet (A), Workington (H), Dons (A).

Dewsbury could have the title in their pockets before we play them. We can win the league if we win all our games and Dewsbury lose two of their four remaining games.

Hunslet's games: Dewsbury (H), Rochdale (A), London (H), Workington (A)

The pivotal game is Hunslet v Dewsbury. If Hunslet win all their remaining games, we must win all our games to stay ahead of them - assuming their points difference stays better than ours. - which, of course, means we'd have to beat Dewsbury to finish second.

If Dewsbury beat Hunslet, five wins out of six means we will definitely finish ahead of Hunslet.

What do you reckon is the best outcome for us in the Hunslet v Dewsbury game apart from a mass brawl with 26 players sent off resulting in all red carded players each getting an 8 match ban?

I'm not sure which way I want it to go. I'd like to keep the hope of winning the league alive but I don't like the idea of a Hunslet win as it possibly means having to play Hunslet away in a play-off game if we don't finish second.

Just got to get back to winning ways . Can see some changes in the backs with Hall , Johnstone & Tali returning if fit & Butterworth making his debut. The forwards en bloc had an off day at Hunslet . Smeaton moving back into the forwards will be a plus.

I think in practical terms we want Dewsbury to beat Hunslet.
We want to finish 2nd...
Don't think we will beat Dewsbury so won't finish top....
The cavalier in me wants Hunslet to beat Dewsbury and for us to win our last 6 games.. and WE are champions.
Roy of the Rovers stuff!
Yes I know that was football.