Dons prepare for crucial back-to-back games

It will be the second-placed Dons’ first game in three weeks but Horne says the club’s coaching staff have used the time well.

“In addition to working on tidying aspects of our play, we’ve treated it as a sort of mini pre-season especially for those players who are either just coming back from injury, like Brad Knowles, or haven’t got much game-time, such as Jason Tali,” he said.

“We’ve got two massive games coming up on successive weekends with Sunday’s game being followed by a trip to face leaders Dewsbury – the results of which are likely to have a major impact on the title race.”

With the Rams, who are four points clear at the top having played two more games, having a blank weekend, they are expected to be well represented at Sunday’s top-four encounter.

Horne is under no illusions how tough the game at the Flair Stadium will be but he is looking no further ahead than the Cumbrians’ second visit to the city in a game he feels will provide his charges with the ideal preparation for that game.

“They’ve both got big packs and creative backs so we know we are going to have to be at our very best in both games,” he said.

“We’ll certainly have to keep an eye on Workington’s strike second-rowers because they caused us problems when we just pipped them here in the Challenge Cup."