What a great day that was! I am pleased to say that i was there.
Unfortunately due to the way RL is now run i fear it was scenes that we will never see again. I can not see how being awarded a SL franchise could ever compare with the jubilation felt that day!
We were packed in like sardines. If i remember correctly a win for either side would have gained them promotoin and a draw would have let london in via the back door.
Me and my mate ran around the pitch with a big blue and gold banner before the kick off after a Batley fan had placed a Btley car flag on the centre spot!

Great day-Remember it well.

IIRC it wouldn't stick at first...the pitch was like a dustbowl.
It got a cheer.
Happy days ... wish I could go back.
It seemed like every Dons supporter ever was at that match.

True.

One of the greatest days of my life..

Loved the game, the atmosphere was electric and thats the way people should feel when the clubs are in a promotion game.

The super league franchises should be scrapped and revert back to good old promotion and relegation.

I remember being at Warrington for the final against Oldham when we beat them, and i remember the feeling that i had at the final whistle to have gained promotion. Only to be told about the coach leaving and the chairman pulling the plug, and really suffering the following year.

Best game in 30+ years of supporting Donny.

I remember going back to Tattersfield after the match & sitting on the paddock dreaming about the teams that would be playing there the next season.

Happy days.

Franchise system - diabolical. Why should the state of your ground dictate who gets promoted? Typical RL HQ shambles. These clowns don't know what loyal support is.

It did seem like every Dons supporter was there and they were still coming through the turnstiles and even over the walls as the kick-off was delayed.

I think I watched it in the Yarborough with my Dad and brother and from wot I can recall it was packed and I will never forget the atmosphere after we had won, a very special day.

What a day that was!
Remember running onto the pitch at the hooter with everyone then thought e i'm never going to find me Dad again with all these people here, but when i turned round he was about a yard behind me running onto the field himself.
Imo the Saints game just edges it for the best game i've seen.

We certainly made tongues wag at Red Hall at that game Col, How dare little Doncaster get promoted and come and beat Saints in there own back yard and again the atmosphere was great and it also kept the Saints fans quiet.

The Dons win at St Helens was certainly a game to remember however the most memorable victory I have seen the Dons pull off in all my 50 years of supporting the Dons was in the very early 1960's at Headingley when the Dons a team lying at the wrong end of the table (just one division in those days)defeated a star studded high flying Leeds team on there own ground by 22pts -11pts. Wingman Brian Tasker scoring four tries for the Dons which was a club record which stood for many years the star of the Dons team that day was centre Roy Bell who created all Taskers tries

I remember it well Geoff. Stood in the middle of the south stand shouting "COME ON YOU DONS".
But I have to say the BATLEY game just has the edge IMO.

www.dailymotion.com/video/xa5y2r ... dons_sport

www.dailymotion.com/video/xa5y2r ... dons_sport

Ta Bruce, always nice too see that.

There was more glory involved in the Batley game and the Dons team that defeated St Helens were closer matched but the team that defeated Leeds were a million miles away in all departments from the Leeds team of internationals the Dons won the game against all the odds as they did against St Helens but I think the win at Leeds goes down as the most memorable Dons victory I have seen you have to remember at that time the Dons were only winning 3 or 4 games a season where as the team that defeated Batley & St Helens were regular consistent winners.

I remember i was of the first ones over the fence that was behind the sticks, i got my leg stuck and just fell in a heap while everybody piled over me. We took over Mount Pleasant that afternoon and i will always remember shouting for Tony Fisher to come out of the changing rooms and he did !! Yarborough was rocking that night.
St Helens is the best 1st division match (now SL), beating them at home with the square box that was Scott Gibbs making his debut was out of this world. What made it better was seeing one of my mates broken down on the way home in his posh car while we passed him in my banger Astra that he overtook us 1/2 hour earlier.

Cheers Bruce, i could watch that every day.

Yes, QUALITY

i remember the day fairly well to say i was only 13..

main memories...the pub (which is now shut) it seemed packed.

Getting in....seemed like as many people were climbing in as paying in

the game....very tight...but even though i didn't quite understand all the rules, i knew it was a great game. I remember a Batley player was bleeding from the eye...but there was no way he was going off

The pitch invation...we were stood near the corner up slope the opposite side of the dug out....i think that stand was demolished and a new one erected.

batley had won 12 on trot up to playing doncaster and the year after they won promotion

Yea I was there and am on the video on the pitch afterwards waving my umbrella about. Went down to the club that evening and had a drink with the players and officials, happy days.
As for the Saints match I was on holiday with the family in SkegVegas so didn't believe my mate when I rang him to see how many Saints had put past us! I still think that embarrasing them cost us dearly as we suffered some appalling referreeing for the rest of the season (at the bequest of Red Hall), and it was one of only two matches I missed all season (Wigan away midweek being the other) despite having my car nicked and driving to Warrington and Widnes in a £175 Y Reg Fiesta with my then 6 year old son and his then legendary pop crate that he stood on at every match. he was hooked and is now playing for Bentley (having turned out for both Dons and Eagles reserves) and was a member of the Donny Select Amateur squad who played the Dons last month.

It rings a bell



(You can spot my head jumping up and down amongst the crowd on the pitch at the end...where have they all gone...bloody glory grabbers

)

Unfortunatley i must agree that those days will never be repeated in rugby league now. Imean how many other times do we see a final game with so much at stake, We win we go up, Batley win they go up, we draw and London go up. Franchise system my asre.

The very best day ever in my time watching the club. Dinner at the Red Beck at Wakefield on the way, (the steak pie there was awesome). The build up and the tension to the game you could cut with a knife. The support was amazing in numbers and volume. The dust bowl of a pitch made it surreal, and a real ding dong of a game. Happy days.

The end of that season and the beginning of the next ... halcyon days.