Doncaster RLFC 34 Batley Bulldogs 36

The game had looked well beyond the League One side when the Championship outfit, who had won all three previous warm-up games, led 36-16 at the start of the final quarter.

But, as was the case in the narrow defeat against London Broncos a week earlier, the Dons finished the stronger side.

Second-rower Charlie Martin sparked off the Dons revival with a 64th minute converted try.

Jack Downs raced 40 metres to score another converted try on 70 minutes shortly after a Keighley player had been sin-binned for holding him down.

When winger Aaron Jones-Bishop sent Hull FC’s French international Hakim Miloudi over for another converted try three minutes from time the Dons had Batley on the ropes but were unable to deliver the crucial knockout punch in the closing stages.

Bulldogs, who had beaten Keighley 28-0 at Cougar Park last time out, wasted no time in showing their teeth – winger Shaun Ainscough getting on the end of a kick to claim a third-minute try.

The Dons attempts to put points on the board wasn’t helped by some poor handling in the breezy conditions, but they levelled the scores on 14 minutes.

Full-back Richard Owen joined the attack and picked out Jones-Bishop with a long cut-out pass and he touched down to wide for stand-off Jack Miller to convert.

The Dons got their noses in front on 26 minutes. Kieran Cross opened up the Batley defence in a move finished off by Ross Osborne. Miller added the extras from in front of the posts to make it 10-4.

The West Yorkshire side drew level just past the half-hour mark – James Harrison doing well to get the ball away in the tackle in the build-up to Ainscough’s second try which Patch Walker converted.

Batley regained the lead on 34 minutes after Jason Crookes broke the line and put fellow centre Dane Manning over for an unconverted try close-range try to make it 14-10.

The visitors stretched their lead to ten points with a fourth try just before the break.

The Dons were back within four points of Batley just three minutes of the restart courtesy of a converted try by centre Connor Bower.

Batley regained the momentum and scored three tries without reply to give them what turned out to be a match-winning 20-point lead.

The first came when Adam Gledhiill latched on to a loose ball with Hemmingway going over from acting half-back.

When Manning bagged his second on 59 minutes it looked like being just a damage-limitation exercise for the Dons in the final quarter but that’s not how it turned out.

Dons: (starting) Owen, Sanderson, Bower, Tali, Jones-Bishop, Miller, Harris; Boyle, Kesik, Scott, Lane, Martin, Muranka.