Re: Play Off Final: Swinton v Dons 02/10/2022 @ 2pm : Mon Oct 03, 2022 8:11 am  

Those who were head-hunted last year don't seem to have set the Championship alight. Some may have left last year because of the uncertainly surrounding League One. They presumably got better financial offers too.

I'm not sure who the Championship clubs would be targeting this season. Our best players: Tali? Johnston? Taulapapa? No, no, he's getting on a bit now. Connor Robinson possibly? Ruan to Leeds?

I like Wilf's reference to Craig Harrison's winter sale catalogue!

I reckon we need plenty of new blood for next season. If we think a little bit of tinkering will be enough because we had a 'near miss' we will be making a mistake.

To win the league with little change would be relying on other clubs not being as good as Swinton and Keighley. That may prove to be the case but it's not something I would care to take a chance on.

We should aim to be the Keighley of 2023, not stumble over the line through the play-offs. Better quality players are needed to do that... no offence meant to the players we've got as they given their all this season and we could ask nothing more of them.

[Jemmo]

Re: Play Off Final: Swinton v Dons 02/10/2022 @ 2pm : Mon Oct 03, 2022 8:21 am  

I personally think we were 2 props and a fullback short this season, I thought that early on and I still think that now. I hear that the core of this squad is remaining in tact and we shouldn't have the wholesale changes of last year, but some changes are still needed

Re: Play Off Final: Swinton v Dons 02/10/2022 @ 2pm : Mon Oct 03, 2022 8:27 am  

The "Craig Harrison Winter Sale" made me physically laugh its true its the only place we get players from, despite him being a terrible human being we seem to keep going back to him and lining his pockets.

I'll be brutally honest the vast majority of the squad needs a refresh and a different way of playing, we have a ground that lends itself to expansive rugby we just need a coach who can make the best of it.

With the incoming changes I dont feel we can afford not to get promoted next season - as DM has said we should Go Large and try to gain promotion, I am sure we have more finanancial backing than both the Cougars and Swinton and I'd dare to say our local rivals in the Eagles, the question is does Club Doncaster have the desire?

Re: Play Off Final: Swinton v Dons 02/10/2022 @ 2pm : Mon Oct 03, 2022 8:41 am  

77 mins on the clock 12-10 in a game where the winner gets promoted and there's 1 coach running up and down the touchline screaming at his players and the other coach sat in the corner of the stand thinking of what he's gonna have for his supper later!

Re: Play Off Final: Swinton v Dons 02/10/2022 @ 2pm : Mon Oct 03, 2022 8:59 am  

I hope that what Jemmo has heard regarding the squad has some semblance of truth, we really cannot afford to be 'gelling' as a team into the new season. Are the two clubs who are coming down into League 1 as good as the two that have achieved promotion? at this moment in time you ought to think that they are not.

On paper we should be classed as one of the favourites for promotion next year, as my dear old Father in Law says approaching his 93rd year, "get a bloody move on whilst I get chance to see it"

[Jemmo]

Re: Play Off Final: Swinton v Dons 02/10/2022 @ 2pm : Mon Oct 03, 2022 9:18 am  

Dewsbury will need to have a good close season to be competitive (IMO) they have released a lot of players and a lot of their main players are getting on a bit, depends on their investment I guess.

Workington are always competitive and although they've hit financial trouble this year and had a tough year on the pitch they always seem there or thereabouts. I'd suggest the biggest threat as things stand for next year is North Wales and someone like Hunslet spending some.

As I understand it, Keighley have a wealthy backer who has no family so is spending it all on his team while he can. They're knocking down their main stand and doing a rebuild

Re: Play Off Final: Swinton v Dons 02/10/2022 @ 2pm : Mon Oct 03, 2022 10:28 am  

Jemmo wrote:

I personally think we were 2 props and a fullback short this season, I thought that early on and I still think that now. I hear that the core of this squad is remaining in tact and we shouldn't have the wholesale changes of last year, but some changes are still needed

I agree we'd have been in a much better place with two more props and a full-back. In all the years we've been in this division, this has been a common theme: not enough power in the forwards and no real expert full-back.

We can overcome the lesser lights in the division but when tackling the better sides, these shortcomings find us out.

One other point that needs to be considered is that should we get promoted next season we don't want to have to make wholesale changes to that squad when we go up. Keighley have got a squad together that should be competitive in the Championship and this is what we should aim to do.

I don't think we should under-estimate the difference in quality between the Championship and League One.Getting up is the easy bit, staying there is the hard part as I suspect Swinton will find out, unless they bring in five or six better quality players.

To be honest, the present Dons team would not cope with the Championship physicality, intensity and pace. That is why I feel we need to bring in more than two or three better quality players now... providing we can attract them to the club. Keighley did it so I suspect it's money that talks, not necessarily the league you're in.

Yes, let's start with a couple of props and a full-back but we should aim to do more.

[Jemmo]

Re: Play Off Final: Swinton v Dons 02/10/2022 @ 2pm : Mon Oct 03, 2022 10:29 am  

Yes, I class those three as the bare minimum but agree with everything you have said

Re: Play Off Final: Swinton v Dons 02/10/2022 @ 2pm : Mon Oct 03, 2022 11:52 am  

Dunno what I will do next season, I tend to buy a season ticket because at £60 they are cheap.
But I can't get to all home games unless I spend £30 in diesel making a special round trip from Sewerby....
So dunno....Dons need to sign a couple of marquee players for me to be revved up...
Our halves did not step up at Swinton or we would have won.

Re: Play Off Final: Swinton v Dons 02/10/2022 @ 2pm : Mon Oct 03, 2022 11:56 am  

To be fair S-O Swinton did their homework and didn't fall for the show n go from Johnston, once that's not an option we lack the creativity to do much else other than BARGE!!! We brought Watson on and stuck him at acting half he was rarely involved in open play which is a shame as he has the ability to create magic.

What typified it for me was 2 mins to go, we have the ball and we do a one-out wasted drive with Smeets, shows there is no plan B in place, you could argue there is barely a Plan A at times. The defence overall was pretty solid and Travis did very well under the highballs they lofted, he has pace to burn just wished we used him more.

We play a very percentage game we don't seek to make chances to score we wait for the opposition to drop off tackles.