Doncaster Rovers notebook: Bradford City decision due, international fortunes and crowdfund latest

International round-up

Of course, Rovers had a rare weekend off owing to their game with Salford City being postponed due to international call-ups.

So far, Patrick Kelly and Charlie Crew have had plenty of minutes in the legs representing Northern Ireland under-21s and Wales under-19s respectively.

Kelly started both the 1-1 draw with Moldova and the narrow 1-0 loss to Ukraine - he captained the side for the latter. These games are friendlies in a mini-tournament taking place out in Turkey as preparation ahead of the European Under-21 Championship qualifying stages. NI's final game is on Tuesday against Uzbekistan U21s (5pm).

As for Wales, Crew started both games in their UEFA U19 Euro Qualifying Elite Round and was given the armband. They lost 2-0 to England before a 1-0 reverse to Portugal. Their final match of this break is against Turkey on Tuesday (7pm).

The third Rovers player to be called up was Chelsea loanee Ted Sharman-Lowe. He earned a place in Lee Carsley's England under-21s squad for friendlies with France and Portugal.

Sharman-Lowe, who has kept nine clean sheets in the league so far, was an unused substitute for a 5-3 defeat in Lorient on Friday. He'll be hoping for some game time tonight (Monday) when Carsley's side face the Portuguese at the Hawthorns. The game can be watched live on the England Youtube channel. Kick-off is 7.45pm.

McCann junior

Speaking of internationals, there was a poignant moment in the aforementioned Northern Ireland under-21s games for Rovers chief Grant McCann.

His son Bayley, on the books at Barnsley, made his debut for the country against Moldova and even went on to take the captain's armband in the second half of that game. He also started against Ukraine. McCann junior made his Barnsley league debut this month and earlier this season came up against his dad's side in an EFL Trophy game that Rovers edged at Oakwell.

His international bow came during a hugely difficult week for the family, with McCann senior writing on Twitter/X: "So proud of Bayley making his Northern Ireland under-21s debut and to captain the team in the 2nd half. Nanny would be so proud mate."

Bradford decision due

Rovers have had their fair share of games shifted because of live TV coverage. The upcoming games with Cheltenham and Wimbledon were both moved recently to the 12.30pm slot.

It's left many wondering what will happen regarding the final home game of the season - the eagerly anticipated Yorkshire derby against promotion rivals Bradford City. As it stands, that's scheduled for 3pm on Saturday, April 26 but in the next few days it will be confirmed whether or not that time and date is changing. Thursday at 4pm is when Sky Sports announce their TV picks in advance. With the final day of the season (away at Notts County) now set in stone, the Bantams' game is the only one that Rovers fans are sweating on.

Academy roar on

Rovers' under-18s roared back to form on Saturday with an impressive 3-0 home win over Lincoln City. Paul Green's side made it three wins in their last four thanks to goals from Ethan Hodgett, Aaron Cashmore and Kenneth Imariagbe (pen).

They'll be looking for a strong end to the campaign with just a handful of games left, starting away at Mansfield this coming weekend.

Flag crowdfund nears target

Earlier this month a Rovers fan group set up a 'crowdfunder' as they look to get a 'surfer flag' in place for the promotion run-in.

The Black Bank wanted to raise an initial £3,000 to contribute towards a flag that they say will be 25 metres by nine metres. At the time of writing, they have raised 90 per cent of their total with just shy of £2,700 donated.

To donate or find out more info, click here.