Newcastle Thunder v Doncaster RLFC: Dons target fourth straight win

The Dons climbed into second place following last weekend’s win at Hunslet Hawks and head coach Gary Thornton is keen for his side to keep the pressure on leaders Rochdale.

“We’ve won three on the trot following a dip in form and we want to keep the run going,” he told The Star.

Having seen prop Mark Castle score against one of his former clubs last weekend, Thornton is hoping Papua New Guinea centre Jason Tali, who played for the north east club last season, can follow suit.

“You always look for a player to play well against one of their former clubs and we’ll certainly be looking for Jason to have a big game and hopefully keep his try-scoring sequence going,” he said.

“It’s obviously a game that we’ll be looking to win but it will be our first trip up there since they moved in with Newcastle Falcons Rugby Union Club last season and the first time that most of the players will have played on a 4G pitch, so it’s not going to be easy. But we’ll go up there in a confident frame of mind following the win at Hunslet where we showed a lot of character to come back and win it.”

Despite Dewsbury allowing scrum-half Brad Delaney to remain on a week-to-week basis, Thornton will change a winning side with fit-again winger David Foggin-Johnson set to return.

Veteran prop Makali Aizue will be rested in a pack boosted by dual-registration Hull FC star Iafeta Paleaasina.