Doncaster RLFC hoping to bounce back in derby clash with Sheffield Eagles

There was some straight talking by players and coaches alike during the review of their 66-0 defeat against York Knights at the weekend and head coach Richard Horne is hoping the result is just a blip and that the Dons will return to winning ways against their South Yorkshire rivals.

Neither side, particularly Sheffield who have regularly challenged for a play-off spot in recent seasons, are where they expected to be at this stage of the season and both find themselves in the bottom four.

“Sheffield have been up and down a bit like us in the opening weeks of the season,” said Horne. “We need to find some consistency in what we are doing and hopefully we can do that going forward.

“It’s all about the boys’ response to the York game and how they apply themselves. It’s all about application; if you don’t apply yourselves then, as I said at the LNER Stadium, that is what happens.”

Eagles have already beaten the Dons twice this season – in a pre-season friendly at the Eco-Power Stadium and in their AB Sundecks 1895 Cup first round tie at the Olympic Legacy Park where centre Chris Welham crossed for a hat-trick of tries in a 50-18 win early last month.

“They’ve been a bit of a bogey team for us in the last couple of years, knocking us out of the 1895 Cup both this year and last year as well as completing a league double over us last season – though both were very close games,” said Horne.

Horne, who hinted earlier in the week that he might look at trying to bolster his squad, will be checking on the fitness of second-rower Sam Smeaton, who came off with a dead leg early in the game at York, and hooker Isaac Misky, who suffered a quad injury in training last week, prior to finalising his squad.

He could also be boosted by the return of several players to miss the York game, including centre Brad Hey, but strong-running winger Bureta Faraimo faces several more weeks on the sidelines as does stand-off Ben Johnston who hasn’t played since early season after suffering a recurrence of the foot injury which kept him out of action for several lengthy periods last season.

Second-rower Pauli Pauli, who proved the biggest attacking threat in the 1895 Cup defeat, is still several weeks away from a return to action following a knee operation.