Dons move into top four

The Dons climbed above the Cougars into the top four, with two games to go, when beating London Skolars 30-10 in the capital on Saturday.

“It was a great result for us and we fully deserved to win but it was a far tougher game than the scoreline would suggest,” said head coach Gary Thornton.

“They were a very big physical side, especially up front, but I thought our forwards rose to the challenge – especially the likes of Kyle Kesik, Mark Castle and Matt Nicholson.

“The pack provided the platform for our backs and we scored some good tries and were unlucky to have two more disallowed for forward passes which looked good to me.

“Sam Doherty responded in the right way after being left out against South Wales with a hat-trick.”

The Dons suffered a rocky spell on the resumption of play following a break of over 10 minutes midway through the second half due to the threat of lightning.

“We had just scored before we went off and had the momentum but we were a bit sluggish on the restart,” said Thornton.

“They scored a try and but for Tom Carr, whose tackle caused their player to drop the ball over the line, our lead would have been down to two points.

“But we finished the stronger and scored two more tries in the last ten minutes and claimed a good win against a side which had beaten both Keighley and Barrow in their last two home games.”