Doncaster v Swinton 10/4/22 3pm kick off. : Fri Apr 08, 2022 6:07 pm  

Squad http://www.doncasterrugbyleague.co.uk Good to see Ben Cockayne back in the squad missing Misi, Burns & Ollett - Hobson. Mathiou included & possible return for Halliday with Sanderson moving to full back.

Squad http://www.doncasterrugbyleague.co.uk Good to see Ben Cockayne back in the squad missing Misi, Burns & Ollett - Hobson. Mathiou included & possible return for Halliday with Sanderson moving to full back.

Re: Doncaster v Swinton 10/4/22 3pm kick off. : Sat Apr 09, 2022 8:29 am  

It is good to seem Ben back, I hope he can get some minutes in, we have missed his organisation and defence around the ruck area IMO. I watched the highlights of Swinton's win at the Midlands, they look a good side.

I am hoping that we can start off as we mean to go on and not spend the first period on the back foot.

Re: Doncaster v Swinton 10/4/22 3pm kick off. : Sun Apr 10, 2022 9:59 am  

Today's match odds with Skybet are quite staggering.

To win the match outright: Swinton 1/9, Draw 33/1, Dons 5/1

Handicap betting: Dons +18, 10/11, Draw (Dons +18) 22/1, Swinton -18, 10/11.

Anyone tempted to back the Dons at those odds?

Re: Doncaster v Swinton 10/4/22 3pm kick off. : Sun Apr 10, 2022 4:03 pm  

Not sure what to write after that hammering, mid table, big gulf between us and Keighley and now most defiantly Swinton. North Wales have a strong unit and we will not beat them on current form.

Re: Doncaster v Swinton 10/4/22 3pm kick off. : Sun Apr 10, 2022 4:25 pm  

Well what can you you say about this afternoons performance.
Congratulations to Swinton, they outplayed us and deserved the win.
Once again a poor performance by officials in our league, but not withstanding that, the referee shouldn't have been put in the position to issue a red card for dissent.
I won't name individuals but our one on one defence /tackling was pretty poor all game, our mistake count must have been huge.
Our kicking game was repetitive and predictable to defend against.
In my opinion it appeared right from the off a number in the team looked lack luster and were just going through the motions.
I don't know if it's structure, game plan, or poor decision making, but there needs to be a major shake up.
Very disappointing to be a Don's fan àfter that performance.

Re: Doncaster v Swinton 10/4/22 3pm kick off. : Sun Apr 10, 2022 4:37 pm  

Swinton were good in attack but definitely looked vulnerable in defence. It'll be interesting to see how they go against the better teams in the league.

As for the Dons, the set restarts were a killer along with the sending off. Regardless of all that, we were second best by a wide margin.

Agree with Wilf, it's hard to take any positives from the last two defeats. We've definitely gone backwards from last year while the opposition seems to be somewhat better.

Re: Doncaster v Swinton 10/4/22 3pm kick off. : Sun Apr 10, 2022 11:24 pm  

We were lucky....we were elsewhere and intended to travel 140 miles to watch...we decided against it.
Good job....
Being sent off for dissent is STUPID.
...officials aren't cheats and abusing them is pointless.
So well done Johnston...you gave the game away with your gob!
Two meetings with rivals...two poundings...very little structured play.
Take a bow Mr Horne...
If Corion can't tackle and can't score tries...I blame you.
Of any of the players is not up to muster I blame you....
You are the architect of this team and they are not at the races...
But eh, get behind the team, chill, give them a chance, and similar year in year out responses.
Not the player's fault...management's fault
Time they took the blame and resigned.

Re: Doncaster v Swinton 10/4/22 3pm kick off. : Mon Apr 11, 2022 7:16 am  

I said at the start of the season this team is not good enough to make the top five and I stand by it. Poor recruitment has left us looking at a season of drubbings.

People on the Supports FB page make me laugh with comments about signing local players ,nothing against the lad from Bentley making his debut but he was never at the races and was replaced after a ten minute spell. The quality is just not there locally anymore.
We have lost quality players like Douglas , Johnson and Beharrell and replaced them with amatures and players that have not pulled on a pair of boots in years.

I have seen nothing from Corian since he joined the club that has given me hope he will come good .
His tackling and positional play is way off the mark but we don't seem to have an alternative, the club need to act fast and get in to the loan market for some much needed quality or I fear our race will be run by the end of May.

Swinton's ruck speed was far to quick for us and our defense was left exposed by players struggling to make it back into the defensive line.
Their half backs and outside backs tore us apart.
Speed and support play at its best and you can see why they are the bookies favorites to go up .

We have two games coming up which we should win, however they are followed by two games against Oldham and North Wales which we must win to have any chance of making the play offs.

Re: Doncaster v Swinton 10/4/22 3pm kick off. : Mon Apr 11, 2022 8:32 am  

A good sum-up by KLD.

Swinton looked vulnerable defensively so I think the better teams will have a chance against them.

With regards to the play-offs, six out of 11 teams make it in our division. That's similar to 13 teams in Donny Rovers league making the play-offs!

But the Dons' challenge is made much easier by having West Wales, London Skolars and Cornwall making up the numbers. I'm not sure Midlands Hurricanes are candidates for a top 6 spot either.

Realistically, the are probably seven teams vying for six spots: Swinton, N Wales, Rochdale, Keighley, Oldham, Hunslet and the Dons. It would be incredibly disappointing if we ended up bottom of that pile but based on what we've seen so far it can't be ruled out.

Re: Doncaster v Swinton 10/4/22 3pm kick off. : Mon Apr 11, 2022 9:26 am  

Double Movement wrote:

A good sum-up by KLD.

Swinton looked vulnerable defensively so I think the better teams will have a chance against them.

With regards to the play-offs, six out of 11 teams make it in our division. That's similar to 13 teams in Donny Rovers league making the play-offs!

But the Dons' challenge is made much easier by having West Wales, London Skolars and Cornwall making up the numbers. I'm not sure Midlands Hurricanes are candidates for a top 6 spot either.

Realistically, the are probably seven teams vying for six spots: Swinton, N Wales, Rochdale, Keighley, Oldham, Hunslet and the Dons. It would be incredibly disappointing if we ended up bottom of that pile but based on what we've seen so far it can't be ruled out.

I think we missed Ollett- Hobson who was outstanding defensively against Keighley until he was withdrawn, and Greg Burn who I have been very impressed with since his move from the Seagulls.

We don't seem to have players capable of taking the step up when injuries occur, this will undoubtably cause us issues as the season rolls on.

With Hedges retiring , Burns and Misi out for the foreseeable ,Johnson with a ban coming and Boas still injured we are light on troops after only three games.

Hopefully a couple of good performance against, shall we say some of the leagues lesser quality sides will give us some much needed confidence going in to May