Doncaster RLFC: Assistant coach Pete Green gives his verdict on Whitehaven defeat

“It was a very disappointing result for us up at the Recreation Ground and the performance was well below par,” said assistant coach Pete Green.

“The conditions were tough, as we knew they would be given the recent weather, and they probably suited Whitehaven more than us.

“But we had a strong side out and we felt confident going into the game and you can’t blame the conditions for how we played.

“We just gave away far too many penalties on the day and our completion rate was below 50 per cent. We looked dangerous when we got down their end but we needed to be more clinical.

“We were poor in the first half but we still went in ahead (4-0) at half time and it could easily have been 12-0. But they scored two early tries after the break and got on a roll and opened up an 18-4 lead.

“We pulled a try back and it could have been a different story had Kyle Kesik, who was held up over the line, scored because we had a bit of momentum at that stage.

“As I say, it was a very disappointing result and we’ve got a lot of things to work on before our next game against Featherstone Lions in the Challenge Cup on Sunday week.

“We’d have preferred to have had a game this weekend because you always want to get a bad result out of your system as quickly as possible.”

Green said that it was unlikely that the Dons would be mounting a spying trip on their amateur opponents this weekend.

“I don’t think we’d learn much about how they are likely to play against us,” he said.