Faraimo stars with hat-trick as Dons return to winning ways at Salford

It was just the result that head coach Richard Horne had been looking for as his charges embarked on a run of away games which will keep them on the road until late July.

But they were made to work much harder than in the two games at the Eco-Power Stadium by a spirited Salford side who produced arguably their best display of the season.

The Dons were still without leading try-scorer Edene Gebbie and fellow winger Luke Briscoe and centre Reece Lyne but welcomed back Buretta Faraimo and hooker Greg Burns after lengthy lay-offs. They also had Hull KR loanee Tom Whitehead on the bench.

They got off to a flying start when Connor Robinson sent second-rower Alex Sutcliffe through a huge gap ten metres out.

Faraimo celebrated his return action when latching on to a long ball by Aston to cross out wide after a strong run by second-rower Luis Johnson had helped create the attacking position and Sutcliffe had been held just short.

No sooner had the cheers of the Doncaster fans died down than they were on their feet again to celebrate a superb run down the touch line and finish by winger Mitieli Vulikijapani.

Robinson again hit the post but this time the ball went over to give his side a 16-0 lead inside the first quarter.

The home side fell further behind on 21 minutes, Sutcliffe winning the race to Robinson’s astute grubber kick.

Despite the impressive Dons’ dominance the Salford supporters continued give their side magnificent backing and they finally had something to cheer on 27 minutes when half-back Toby Hughes, who had scored four in their big win over North Wales last time out, touched down for a converted try.

They would have made further inroads into the Dons’ lead had Lewis Pilling not put down Dixon’s pass with the line in sight.

The Dons rode their luck and increased their lead when a powerful run down the left by Faraimo resulted in the supporting Tom Holmes touching down for another converted try.

Salford again gave their fans something to shout about when winger Jacob Douglas got away down the right and committed Holmes before sending the supporting Hughes over from 30m out for a second converted try.

They carried on where they had left off at the start of the second-half, centre Oli Garmston touching down from a grubber kick to close the gap to 28-16. They went on to edge the third quarter as mistakes started to creep into the Dons’ game.

Salford had the momentum at the start of the final quarter but they never looked like seriously challenging the Dons who raised their game again. Faraimo put the result beyond doubt when forcing his way over in the corner on 66 minutes to open up a 16-point lead.

The versatile Watson Boas, playing centre, broke the Salford line 30m out on 72 minutes and elected to go himself rather than use support on either side.

Faraimo latched on to a loose ball near the line to complete his hat-trick.

MATCHFACTS

Performance: 7.5/10

Entertainment: 8/10

Dons: Holmes, Faraimo, Boas, Glover, Vulikijapani, Robinson, Aston, Matagi, Burns, Mustapha, Sutcliffe, Johnson, Jacob Jones. Subs: Hepi, Knowles, Misky, Whitehead.18th man: McConnell.