'Two clubs at different end of spectrum' - Dons coach Richard Horne reacts to defeat to Wakefield Trinity

But despite seeing Trinity post a 42-6 win head coach Richard Horne remained upbeat.

“I think the final score probably flattered them,” he told the Free Press.” If they hadn’t scored on the hooter it would probably have been a better reflection of the game.

“They are a Super League team playing in the Championship and they have huge ambitions going forward and the two clubs are currently at different ends of the spectrum in a way with us going up last season and them going down.

“It was always going to be a huge test for us but I thought the boys dug in and at no point did we wave the white flag. I just think that it was a case of fatigue and the quality of the opposition which led to their three late tries.

“Overall, I thought our energy levels were pretty good but they were just very clinical with the opportunities they had. We competed and committed numbers to the ruck to try to control their big men but their ruck speed was just too quick for us at times in the build-up to some of their tries; we couldn’t always get set and defend them as we wanted to.

“That was always the challenge for us throughout the game. We did well for long periods but they were always going to have more chances than we did. They also had a few lucky bounces of the ball which led to tries on the day but there will be days during the season when we will get those sort of tries.

“I thought that they defended really well and we struggled to find energy in attack due to all the defending that we had to do. I think that is what they will do to teams this season. You’ve got to expend a lot of energy defending against their big men so when it comes to having ball in hand it’s hard.

“Their half-backs are clever and smart. Luke Gale helps direct the team around the park as well as doing what he wants to do playing behind that big pack. He kicked well but our backfield could have been better and we made too many errors which put us under pressure. We can’t afford to be giving opposition good field position too easily.”

The Dons showed several changes to the side which had run Sheffield Eagles close the week before.

“One or two players hadn’t had a game for three weeks so we decided to give them the chance to put their name into the hat for Sunday’s home game against Featherstone,” said Horne.