Doncaster RLFC pleased to be back on home soil for visit of Barrow

“Obviously we are pleased to be back at the Eco-Power Stadium for the first time since early June because it’s a great facility and we enjoy playing there,” said Horne.

“It’s a pitch which suits how we play, though I’m sure the other teams also enjoy playing there because it’s a great surface and there is always a good atmosphere.

“As I say, it’s good to be back playing at home because it is always better to get into a routine and you can lose that when you have a run of away games.”

Horne always felt that the results in the six successive games on the road, a sequence which included a home game switched to Featherstone, would go a long way to deciding the club’s final position.

“We put a four-week block on following the defeats at Toulouse and Bradford and we’ve won three of the four games so we are happy with that,” he said.

“We find ourselves in eighth place in the table but it’s very tight in and around us so to pick up a win at Featherstone, in a game probably those clubs around us expected us to lose, was a real bonus.

“As I said after the game it was our best display of the season but we’ve got to maintain that level of performance going forward because we’ve got some tough games coming up.”

The Dons, who recorded their first away Championship win at Barrow back in April, will be looking to record their second double of the season. But with the Cumbrians having beaten third-placed Sheffield Eagles at home last time out they will not lack confidence.

Said Horne, who is unlikely to make any unforced changes, “They are a big physical outfit and field position is everything to them because their big men are dangerous near the line and are hard to handle in those areas.

“We’ve got to be good at coming away from our own end, as we were at Featherstone, move the ball well in attack as well as completing high and getting to our kicks at the end of the sets.

“We’ll set ourselves a little target again but it we play like we did against Featherstone then we’ll be hard to beat.”