Well what do we think about this one?
It looks winnable on the face of it, but something tells me we had better get ready for more disappointment.
Might go ... I like the set up at Hunslet, but I don't think the person who designed the ground layout was a sun lover, the stand is the wrong side and like a fridge.

Who thought just 4 games into the season this game would have a massive impact on the campaign? i still believe in cookey and the longer he is here the stronger dons will become but winning breeds confidence so stuff the performance its all about the win COYD

Cooke has a bad knee cut that hasn't been given the chance to heal.
He needs to rest it ... so I think it would be foolish if he turned out.
So fairly rudderless unless Wilko is back or some Hull body.
Not good.

Not exactly a "must win" game just yet, but ,no disrespect to Hunslet , it's games like these on the road we really should be winning. It's been a tough start but now is the time for some points on the board. The longer it goes on the more difficult it will become. I'm firmly in the Dons win camp this week........i hope!

It's now official.Cooke says there is a lack of personnel,experience and guidance. Well that's what crap close season recruiting does for you.
As for the Hunslet game, not a chance. I might be pessimistic but when you have supported the team since the sixties and seen many a crisis,it's easy to spot another. This one is mainly down to the amalgamation with the Rovers. Ok it's brought some improvement on the commercial side but as for the team,forget it because it was the Rovers who pulled the plug on team strengthening.

It does seem now that PC has admitted that we are lacking in experience in certain key positions and injuries haven't helped the cause as well as signing player who are crocked already.

I think the Hunslet game is a MUST win as loosing can become a habit that is hard to shake, withing jumping in two early and being overly negative or a "moaner" I think if we do suffer a defeat to the hands of Hunslet some serious questions need to be asked at all levels of the Dons infrastructure as to whats going wrong.

Sundays result wasnt unexpected and it seems the team played with a bit more effort and togetherness but were outplayed by a very well drilled Leigh side. Sunday is a chance for the club and PC to prove they are taking the team in the right direction, as we are supposed to have improved as a squad since last year and Hunslet are a promoted side this should be a good yard stick to see if that's the case. I worry that defeat will kill off any of the floating supporters as its perceived that its a game we should win based on last years standings and what we have been told.

I still hold firm to my belief that any extra revenue generated by the club (Prize money, Ground Share etc) is not not fully going to the Dons...the statement from Gavin Baldwin states this and even if its taken out of context in the article nothing official has been released to counteract it.

At the moment the club seems to be pushing the youth academy system but weirdly have teamed up with Selby college rather than Doncaster College (where two of its first team players work).......I am sometimes very baffled by the club and its choices

Apart from PC's reports and comments we get very little about the Dons in terms of news or feedback, in fact today I have been bombarded with information about going to see the Rovers for £5 I was momentarily interested but then realised they wanted me to pay £5 to go watch them and I am pretty sure I have some emulsion in the shed I can watch dry.

Why is it in the Rovers or Gavin Baldwins interest to leave the Dons to suffer in the way that some have posted? Hardly a showpiece for Club Doncaster if this suggestion is factual.

Simple as stated in the artilcle linked previously

Simple as stated in the artilcle linked previously


I'm with Moonlight on this one. I don't see any reason why it's in the Rovers or Gavin Baldwin's interest to leave the Dons to suffer. The South Yorkshire Times article is obviously written with a Rovers slant to it but I don't think it proves that the Dons are being drained of money to help fund the Rovers.

It is in Club Doncaster's best interests if both the Rovers and the Dons are successful as it will mean greater revenue streams coming through the Keepmoat for everyone's benefit.

I believe John Scarrow, Carl Hall and Paul Cooke to be men of integrity and I don't think they would stand for being puppets for the Rovers, but that's just my opinion.

If anyone has real evidence to prove the Rovers are screwing the Dons, I'll be prepared to change my mind.

Has anyone got any real evidence to prove that they are not.

From an pure outsiders point of view I can see that we have chosen this year to undertake a youth policy of recruitment despite being told we have some lofty transfer targets and the squads biggest ever playing budget.

The Rovers have managed to continue to sign players both in September and in January all of which I would imagine cost more per week and signing fee's than a decent Semi Pro rugby player.

I would tend to feel that that are not using the Dons for personal gains but in line with the article are using the Dons success of last year and the ground share to fund the Rovers push in League one and as a result of this we are left to feed on the scraps.

We are given the impression that we are "in this together" with the Rovers as one club and with the wages/fees associated with signing even a middling FL1 player I am pretty sure we could have assembled a squad who would have run Leigh much closer than we did and would have no doubt registered some league points by now.

As I said before PC and CH are employed by club Doncaster so its always going to be the case they are don't speak out as they would be employment suicide for them both.

Of course we are entitled to our opinions and they may differ, some people are unlikely to agree with me, some might and this forum only represents a small portion of the Dons supporters or the people of Doncaster, but I have never seen anything official or supplementary evidence to say I am wrong or that we have this supposed "biggest playing budget ever".

Has anyone got any proof that they are, with the exception of conjecture??

We have had the biggest budget in a long, long time, and that came from people within the club, and outside (the sort of people who know what sort of players to market at the club), it was the decision of Cooke and the immediate management (Hall and to an extent, the coaching staff and John Scarrow) not to go out and spend this money immediately, they took the (somewhat brave) decision to try and build crowds before they take the plunge and go for the more expensive players. This is an admirable policy, I know one of the close season targets signed a new contract with his (Super League) club over the winter and remains with them, instead of being here.

All from a different budget..

I can understand your opinion, but at the same time, I feel you're wrong with what you've put.

So clearly from what you have put you seem to be in the know and have an official word from the club regarding this and as such are an approved spokesperson of "Club Doncaster".

You are saying that Carl had a large influence in the decision to sign youth, surely that should have been the coaches roll to pick the players he wanted to sign not that of Carl.

Your views and the article in question seem to be in contradiction, taking over the Dons and I am paraphrasing here was to enable the Rover to access more income to support Paul Dickov's push for a higher league position but the reverse is not true as you have just stated the Rovers and Dons are using a separate budget for players.....doesnt add up to me.

Clearly PC has now come to the realisation that the recruitment over the break hasn't worked as intended and something needs to be done to address this rather than relying on dual reg players from Hull as this is having a negative effect on the team spirit and morale as long serving players are being dropped on a whim on the seeming behest of our Hull overlords.

As I have said before Hunslet is a very big game for the team, on paper from last season we should win and I feel failure to do so will lead to more and more rumors and speculation especially if players who faced up against a clear quality outfit in Leigh are simply replaced with someone Hull wants getting fit....its going to be interesting to see the fall out should we loose once more. I do hope it isn't the case and I am completely proved wrong and this match provides a catalyst to kick on from...we'll know on Monday.

Dead right,couldn't agree more.Rovers puppets and that's it.,which is why the Keepmoat doesn't have an sign up saying home of Doncaster rlfc.

If i look out my window i can see tattersfield, although deepthroat has a nice surface and surroundings we lost a major part of our identity when relocating. everyday i walk the mutt over the same patch a certain mr vila used to bury his opposite number! ahh reminiscing and only in my mid 30s COYD

Bang out of order Mister calling the club Rovers Puppets. Not one bit of truth in it. Shocking thing to come out with. Idiotic is too kind.