Doncaster RLFC's top-four bid will go down to the wire

York, Newcastle and the Dons are all vying for fourth spot, which would give them an extra home game in the Super 8s ahead of this weekend’s final games.

Due to their inferior points difference, the Dons need to win at Gloucestershire All Golds and for both Newcastle, who travel to Hunslet, and York, who entertain Workington, to lose to claim fourth spot.

Head coach Richard Horne’s focus last night was more on the club’s 70-12 win at South Wales Ironmen on Merthyr RFC’s 4G pitch.

“It’s a different surface to what most players are used to but we adapted really quickly and really took it to them in the first 20 minutes,” he said.

“It was a better performance than against Oxford in midweek in that we played well again in the first half and were able to back it up in the second.

“We scored some very good tries and although we made a few errors which would have been punished by a better side, overall it was very pleasing.

“It was the third game in eight days for a lot of the players but we’d eased off in training so they’d be ready for the game and it seemed to do the job.”

Horne made several changes and gave fit-again prop Mark Castle his first run-out since taking charge last month and was impressed with his efforts.

“He put in a really solid performance and he takes the ball in hard.”

Another man to catch the eye was utility-back Reece Dean, standing in for the suspended Tom Carr at full-back. He helped set up several tries when joining the attack.