Doncaster's winning run halted by newly-crowned champions Keighley Cougars

Unbeaten leaders Keighley secured the title and promotion to the Championship, although they were effectively up before the game, when beating the fourth-placed Dons 48-18 in front of their biggest crowd of the season.

The Dons’ first defeat in nine games, allied to other results going against them over the weekend, left their hopes of finishing in the top three hanging by a thread at best.

Indeed, they may need to win at least one of their last two games to be sure of retaining fourth spot.

It is no disgrace to lose to a Keighley side who have benefited from some astute recruitment over the last couple of years. But the manner of the defeat will have surprised many Dons fans given their recent form.

The game as a contest was effectively over at the break with speedy full-back Louis Young, who had earlier set up tries for centre Tafeaga Sa’u and former Dons favourite Jack Miller, racing 80 metres on the hooter to earn his side a 24-0 interval lead which must have been beyond coach Rhys Lovegrove’s wildest expectations given he named the Dons as the in-form side in the division in the build-up.

The Dons made a lively and expansive start and it was against the run of play when they fell behind. But they played too much one-out rugby for the rest of the half.

Although they did go close to a first half try on a couple of occasions, they generally lacked ideas and direction when in the final third against a side with the best defensive record in the league and missed the creative spark of Ben Johnston.

Keighley on the other hand were prepared to run the ball from their own half and were clinical when chances came their way.

Winger Tom Halliday opened the Dons account with a 46th minute try, well converted from touch by Connor Robinson whose half-back partnership with Watson Boas never really sparked.

Any comeback hopes the Dons might have entertained at that stage were dashed on 57 minutes when centre Charlie Graham outjumped Jason Tali, one of several big-name players to under-perform, to score in the corner. Miller again tagged on the extras to make it 30-6.

The two sides shared four tries in the last quarter with Robbie Storey and Misi Taulapapa claiming close-range Doncaster tries.

Dons: Taulapapa, Halliday, Storey, Tali, Corion, Boas, Robinson, Holdstock, Burns, Kenga, Ollett-Hobson, Smeaton, McConnell, Subs: Roberts, Petersen, Hall, Ruan.