Doncaster RLFC defeat Hunslet to reach play-off final

They will be at home for the first time in the play-off final on Sunday week against the winners of this weekend’s Hunslet-North Wales semi-final.

It was the first time this season that the south Leeds club, who get a second bite of the cherry as a result of finishing in the top three, had lost at home against League One opposition with the Dons avenging a 28-8 defeat at the start of July.

To add to the Dons’ joy skipper Sam Smeaton set a new club-record of tries by a forward when touching down for his 20th of the season.

The Dons got off to a disastrous start with winger Tom Halliday dropping the ball in his own 20 direct from the kick-off with Hunslet centre Adam Ryder crossing from the resulting scrum.

Former Dons half-back Matty Beharrell, who controlled the game in a first half during which his side enjoyed territorial advantage for long periods, added the extras to bring his career tally to 500 goals.

The Dons hit back on six minutes when former Super League centre Mahe Fonua maintained his record of scoring in every game he has played for the club during his short-term contract, when managing to get the ball down from close range despite the efforts of several defenders.

Connor Robinson, the league’s leading goal-kicker this season, pulled his conversion wide.

Beharrall gave his side, well served by another former Doncaster player in second-rower Aaron York, an 8-4 lead with a 20m penalty,

The Dons looked to have drawn level with the conversion to come when Ben Johnston touched down a pass from loose-forward Loui McConnell, who had been tackled just short following a storming break, but the referee ruled that his ball-carrying arm had touched the floor before getting his pass away and disallowed the score.

The Dons drew level at 8-8 when veteran winger Misi Taulapapa palmed an inch-perfect kick to the corner by Robinson inside for Fonua to touch down, Robinson’s conversion rebounded off the far post.

Beharell gave his side a deserved 10-8 interval lead at the end of a scrappy half during which both sides had made more handling errors than average due to the damp and humid conditions and the pressure of making the final.

The Dons started the second half strongly and camped for several minutes on the Hunslet line, but they fell further behind on 48 minutes when winger Johnny Campbell beat two defenders in the air to a kick to the corner by Beharrell, who failed to add the extras leaving the score on 14-8.

The Dons drew level for a second time in the game on 55 minutes, stand-off Ben Johnston crossing from close range after a spell of pressure for a try goaled by Robinson.

Hunslet hit back strongly and it took several defenders to hold stand-off Myles Lawford up over the line as the game remained in the balance.

The Dons finished the stronger, however, and got their noses in front for the first time on 63 minutes when PNG international Watson Boas touched down from a Josh Guzdek grubber kick close to the line. Robinson added on the resulting conversion to make it 20-14.

Robinson landed a long-range conversion on 70 minutes to leave Hunslet needing to score at least two tries to win the game.

They never looked like mounting a late rally in the gathering gloom and Smeaton hammered the final nail in their coffin when crossing for a record-breaking 20th try of the season after prop Albert Vete had managed to slip the ball out of the tackle close to the line much to the delight of the noisy away supporters.

Dons: Guzdek, Halliday, Hey, Fonua, Taulapapa, Johnston, Robinson, Vete, Burns, Knowles, Smeaton, Ferres, McConnell. Subs: Boas, Cooper, James, Foster.