Doncaster RLFC coach Richard Horne tempers expectations ahead of Championship return

Indeed, with Joe Lovodua, Craig Hall and Alex Sutcliffe among the other new signings with Super League experience, the Dons are considered an outside bet to make the play-offs in 2024.

However, there is little chance of long-serving head coach Richard Horne getting ahead of himself.

"We're looking forward to the challenge," he told The Yorkshire Post.

"You look at previous teams who have gone up, they've struggled and come straight back down.

"We know it's going to be a really tough task for us but it's an exciting one with the recruitment. We've signed some experienced boys who have been in the Championship for long periods and know what it's all about.

"We hope they can guide us to survival, that's what we're looking for, and then year on year just grow the club with the players and behind the scenes as well. It's all about survival for us."

Wakefield Trinity are the overwhelming favourites to win the Championship after dropping down from Super League.

Toulouse Olympique, Featherstone Rovers and Bradford Bulls lead the best of the rest, a list that also features Halifax Panthers, Sheffield Eagles and York Knights.

While the coaching staff at Doncaster are taking a pragmatic approach, the playing group is aiming higher.

"It's small steps," added Horne.

"It's one of them where you look halfway through the season and see where you're at. Either you're going to be up there looking to push for it or we're going to be in a dogfight down at the bottom trying to survive.

"It's a tough one for us. We'd be happy with mid-table. That would be a really good finish for us but knowing the players and the group that we've got, they believe that they can achieve more. That's fantastic for us."

Doncaster have momentum behind them after ending their eight-year stay in League 1.

The victory over North Wales Crusaders was made all the sweeter by a series of painful play-off defeats, including coming up short in the previous two promotion finals.

Horne, who has been in charge at the Eco-Power Stadium since 2017, believes the Dons are stronger for their extended stay in the third tier.

"Looking back, we probably weren't ready as a club to go up with what we had in place," he said.

"Last year, with the signings and the people we brought in and the community stuff we've done on the back of the World Cup in Doncaster, it was a really good feeling.

"It was the right time. We would have been really disappointed if we didn't achieve it.

"We feel now as a club that we can go compete with the established teams in there like Sheffield, Bradford and Halifax. We can get in the mixer with them."

The introduction of a new grading system, which has replaced automatic promotion and relegation to and from Super League, means clubs are now competing as much off the field as on it.

Doncaster were among the lowest-ranked B clubs in the indicative phase of the rollout, making promotion unlikely in the near future.

Horne is hoping to do his bit to edge the Dons up the rankings by continuing the club's progress on the field.

"The goal that every club has is to get in Super League but we're a fair bit away from that," he conceded.

"It's small steps and making sure that we achieve our goals, not just on the field but off it as well, growing our fanbase and the club in the community, which we've done really well over the last two years.

"I'm sure our score will go up performance-wise from being in League 1 and going up to the Championship. That can grow even more depending on how high we finish. We feel that we can make small gains in all the other boxes.

"It's doing it at the right time for the club and making sure that we are ready to do those steps.

"Carl (Hall, chief executive) has got all that in place. That's his territory. I just focus on what we do on the field. If we're having a successful year, the club will grow on the back of that."

Before Doncaster get their Championship campaign under way in mid-March, they begin their cup journeys.

Horne's side won at Midlands Hurricanes on Sunday in the 1895 Cup, a competition that represents their best chance of reaching Wembley.

"There's always that carrot because the boys will always go out to perform and win," said Horne. "Is it a major priority for us as a club? Probably not.

"But whatever games we are involved in, we'll be going out to win. We're going out there to perform because players need to hold their spots.

"We've got a group of 26 and there are players waiting in the wings to take someone's place. Performance is going to be everything."