Doncaster RLFC v Sheffield Eagles: Team selection dilemma for Horne

Sunday’s game will now be the only chance Horne and his coaching staff will have to see the club’s new-look squad in action ahead of their testing Betfred Challenge Cup second round tie against Bradford Bulls at Odsal Stadium the following weekend.

If previous years are anything to go by, Horne will want to field the side he is most likely to start with at Odsal at some stage during Sunday’s game.

That may well limit his options when it comes to giving as many of his squad a run-out at some stage against the Eagles and trying out new partnerships and players in different positions.

Although he will be forced to make changes to the side which finished eighth in the Championship last season due to players having left the club since the end of the club’s first campaign at that level in eight years, he may decide to stick with as many of last season’s regulars as possible rather than make too many changes given the circumstances he finds himself in.

Eagles find themselves in a similar situation but have the luxury of facing amateur opposition at home in their second Challenge Cup so there is not the same pressure on new head coach Craig Lingard, who was in charge of Super League outfit Castleford Tigers last season to get things right on Sunday and he is likely to experiment more than Horne.

Local amateurs Doncaster Toll Bar, whose first round tie at Castleford-based National Conference Premier League side Lock Lane, also fell victim to the weather last weekend, will try again on Saturday (2pm).

The winners of the tie will have home advantage against Championship newcomers Hunslet in the second round.

The draw for the third round, which sees Super League clubs enter the competition, will be made on Tuesday evening.

Were the Dons to beat the Bulls and draw a Super League club in the third round they would have home advantage as a result of the new format introduced for this season’s competition.