Much-changed Doncaster RLFC struggle to recapture last year's play-off form

Victory over the Leeds-based club, who stand one place and one point adrift of them with a game in hand, would see them go into the second half of the season with a 50 per cent record.

There were fears among Doncaster fans, as was the case with supporters of parent club Doncaster Rovers at the start of their 2021/22 campaign, over the quality of recruitment due to a reduced playing budget.

The side which reached last season’s play-off final was torn apart following the defeat by Workington Town with long-serving play-maker Matty Beharrell and strong-running prop Brandon Douglas among the key players to move on to Championship clubs and the loss of several key loan players.

The club were also dealt a huge blow on the eve of the league campaign when Doncaster-based prop Zak Braham announced his retirement from the game due to personal and work commitments.

Veteran full-back Misi Taulapapa and former Sheffield Eagles hooker Greg Burns have both missed much of the season with injuries.

The club’s cause suffered another telling blow when full-back Ben Johnston – one of the few to impress – was banned for five matches for using abusive language towards officials in the first home game against Swinton.

Johnston will be available this weekend and Papua New Guinea international Wilson Boas, who has been sidelined for the best part of the year with a serious knee injury, is close to a return.

Head coach Richard Horne will no doubt be hoping that the two men can provide the individual spark of brilliance which has often been lacking this season.

With the likes of skipper Sam Smeaton, Jason Tali, Jack Sanderson and Tom Halliday there is plenty of strike threat in the outside backs.

But the failure of the pack to set a platform for them on too many occasions, and the subsequent lack of creativity at half-back, has served to restrict their try-scoring opportunities.

By far Horne’s biggest problem to date, however, has been the team’s defensive frailties.

Sunday’s encounter marks the club’s last home game until the end of July due to the annual pitch renovations.

The lack of regular home games for two months of the season has traditionally disadvantaged the Dons, both in terms of having a traditional fixture list and building their fan base.

The worry is that with away games at unbeaten North Wales Crusaders, Swinton Lions, both of whom have triumphed at the Eco-Power Stadium, and Oldham - where their record on the artificial is not encouraging - to come, they could find themselves out of the play-off places before they entertain West Wales Raiders on July 31.

Given the form to date of unbeaten leaders Keighley and North Wales Crusaders, the Dons’ prospects of claiming the automatic promotion spot appear remote.

So too does second spot which guarantees home advantage throughout the play-offs.

With realistically only seven teams in contention for a play-off spot, the Dons will fancy their chances of finishing in the top six but they will need to show considerable improvement to make any impact if they do.

League One standings: 1 Keighley Cougars P8 Pts 16, 2 North Wales Crusaders 8 16, 3 Rochdale 9 14, 4 Swinton Lions 8 12, 5 Doncaster 9 10, Hunslet 8 9, Oldham 8 5, Midlands 8 4, London Skolars 8 2, West Wales Raiders 8 2, Cornwall 8 0.

Saturday: Cornwall v London, North Wales v Keighley. Sunday: Doncaster v Hunslet, Midlands v West Wales, Oldham v Swinton.