FT Rochdale 44 Dons 8

Wow Wow & more Wow .

Is this a typing error surely you mean How How & more How

As the top six make the play-offs, Hunslet are presently in 7th place with 50% points, we would need to win one of our last four matches to have 50% points.

There's a fair chance we might have to win two from four to be sure of reaching the play-offs...

Don't know what's happening to Dons the N Wales game but I bet they'd fancy their chances of winning that one.

Pack it in Geoff. Explain in 1 paragraph what you suggest the club do?
It's massively frustrating where we are now. I honestly don't know how to improve things. Like you I'm just a fan. If you've got something to suggest to improve our current situation then PLEASE share it. In my opinion the only answer is throwing money at it which doesn't guarantee results. To concentrate the topic please specify what you think the club and Mr Horne are doing wrong. Seriously Geoff help us!

I could post on here what I think what's wrong with the club & what needs doing to improve matters but I think its better I keep my thoughts to myself.

I'll give you a few DM.
Horne keeps playing players out of their best position.
He keeps picking a forward who will never break the line or make five yards..
He's turned probably the best impact forward in the league into an average player.
Johnson played well at full back earlier in the season but hasn't been given a chance since.
Instead he signs a 38 year old renowned for getting on the wrong side of the referee as shown today.
He plays Greensmith on the wing when it's believed second row would be his best position.
It's obvious there is discontent in the squad and the lack of communication fuels speculation using the lack of club information on Watson Boas as an example.
Could go on but what's the point, Horne keeps his job even when it's likely the Don's won't make the play offs and Carl Hall disappears into oblivion when the supporters want some answers.

That's pretty weak Geoff.

You've got the wrong man, Tatty. It was Rob Nash who was wanting answers from Geoff.

I think we could be relying on other results going our way over the last few rounds to get in the play-offs. I can't see us beating Barrow or Workington. Coventry won't be a gimme, and Keighley at home in the last match won't be easy.

Unless we find some form, it's hard to see us being competitve in the play-offs anyway.

I suspect the club would say Covid and injuries have derailed us; that may be true but we've not plugged the gaps well enough either.

To be clear AGAIN. I'm not at all happy about the signing of our full back. My opinion on this is clear. What I'm more bothered about is the appalling decline in our line defence and our ball control. This, to me, seems to be down to a total lack of confidence. I don't know how else to explain it. This set of players is more than capable.

It is a sad sorry state of affairs .

We hear very little from the club , something has got to change .

We have some tough games albeit at home . Confidence seems to be a big problem .

We are now 4th , will the club make an effort to re arrange the North Wales game which is also at home ?

To be fair, Rob, I think our defence has been dodgy all season even when we were winning at the start of the season. There seems to be something lacking with the organisation as we don't number up properly and have conceded some very soft tries. There was one occasion against Hunslet when they had 6 to 3 on our right edge. Hunslet cocked up and failed to score but that was beside the point.

On paper, we do seem to have a strong group of players. This season's signings seemed to add something extra and we looked as though we could possibly be in with a chance of going up. I think we've been missing a full back who can get us organised. I don't think Ben Johnson is a full-back. He is much better in the halves. I thought we'd got a lad called Ricketts who could play full-back but he seems to have been self-isolating all season as he's never had a look in... unless he's left the club and we've not been told.

Listening to the Radio Manchester commentary today, they said we responded well after conceding early but two yellow cards didn't help. They thought Peltier should have got a red for punching just before half time. Cockayne was sin-binned for a deliberate obstruction apparently mid way through the second half.

I do understand what you're saying though, Rob, collectively we certainly don't seem to be playing anywhere near the potential our individual skills suggest we should.

When things aren't going well, a club and its fans need to work together to help get things back on track. The link between the club and the fans seems non-existent. This isn't something that has just happened this season. Things have been awful for some time.

There has been no communication regarding the N Wales game - which is poor. We don't know which players are still at the club. Fans deserve better and if this isn't addressed, I believe many die hards will give up. The club needs to realise it's not only what you do on the pitch that influences fans' loyalty; having good communication matters and if you want fans to care about the club, you must care about the fans.

The coach has no relationship with the supporters and I don't think that helps either.

Sorry about that DM.
The following is a headline in an article from the free press on the Doncaster Rovers News Now web site.
"Dons in free fall and in danger of emulating Doncaster Rovers' collapse"
The article refers to Club Doncaster whose commitment I believe has to be questioned just like I said in my post several days ago.
I suppose one might say that covid has ruined the finances of many clubs but other clubs both in rugby and football have invested in their squads. Lets also not forget that Doncaster got nearly £1.75 million for their midfield player Whiteman earlier in the year and not many other clubs raked in that sort of money.
So it's about time those at the top come clean on just what they want for the Dons and Rovers.
All I can say is thank god Doncaster Knights didn't join this charlatan organisation when they were being chased to do so.

I had originally planned to post my thoughts at the end of the season but reading other supporters views on Facebook and RLFans has prompted me to air my feelings now.

I first watched the Dons at Tattersfield in the 70’s and by the early 80’s was hooked and a regular home & away. This season will be my last. I have already confided in those close to me and one or two fellow supporters that I won’t be renewing my season ticket next season.

There are factors both on and off the pitch which have influenced this decision.

On the pitch ...

I have not played rugby league since I was at school and have a lot of respect for the players who play the game, especially those who play at levels where the rewards, financial or otherwise are minimal. I have no axe to grind with individual players.

At the start of this season we once again had a squad which looked capable of being in the top 3 or 4 in League One. That in itself begs a question. Why, following the 2017 announcement of the 5 year plan do we once again find that not only are we not pushing for automatic promotion with a squad fully capable of achieving it, but are clinging on to a play off spot as even more difficult fixtures loom on the horizon? Does Club Doncaster back the Coach sufficiently financially? If they believe they have done, then the return on that investment is simply not good enough. If they haven’t, then they are reaping what they have sown. We are now failing to beat teams who will never play above this level of rugby league and player availability cannot be used as an excuse as all clubs are having issues. For a club which boasts ambition that also simply isn’t good enough, but I can’t help feeling that in truth there isn’t really the ambition to play in the Championship. Personally, I no longer enjoy what I am witnessing.

But worse still ... Off the pitch ...

Many people have commented about the disconnect between ‘the Club’ and the supporters. I feel that almost understates the situation and wholeheartedly agree with one particular comment that ‘the us and them is bordering on toxic’ and concur that there appears to be no ambition to resolve this.

Communication is only marginally better than non-existent and the content insubstantial. Worse still, the way the moving of a fixture to Castleford was handled looked nothing short of underhand with the venue changed on the fixture list but no official announcement until after a backlash from the fanbase.

The Club has recently deemed it appropriate to restructure the Fans Forum Meetings. These are now Meetings between Club representatives and an Advisory Group, the Club’s chosen title. My own view was that supporters weren’t getting as much out of these Meetings as I think they should but reading recent public comments from the two recently appointed Vice Chairs, one about hitting brick walls with questions, this change doesn’t appear to be for the better and could be perceived as no more than a box-ticking exercise. This change it seems was also intended to allow the CEO to take a step back from chairing these meetings.

Whilst on the subject of these Meetings, on 20 May 2021 the Club issued to potential attendees a document concerning being an ‘Independent Member of Advisory Group’. This document lists the duties and responsibilities of being a member. One of these responsibilities is ‘To understand and adhere to all policies implemented by Doncaster Rugby League Club and / or Club Doncaster group'. I have twice asked for these policies to review. Why would I agree to something without reading it and understanding it? The first time I received no response. The second time (20 July 2021), the response was that the request had been passed to Club Doncaster’s Finance Director. Still nothing! As a result I did not attend the last Meeting. I repeat, why would I agree to something without reading and understanding it? I wonder if anyone else has seen these policies? I know I am not alone in requesting them.

I have recently cancelled my standing order for Dons4Life, again, I am aware that I am not alone in this action. About 3 years ago questions began to be raised with the Club about this funding. Eventually, a meeting was called for July 2019. At that meeting it was stated that there would be transparency about what the funds were used for along with member draws, offers and discounts. I acknowledge that there is a page on the Club Website but beyond that there seems to have been little or no activity and certainly no communication with members.

There have been comments that the Club appear to have placed more importance on the World Cup fixtures than getting the Dons promoted. I couldn’t argue with those who have that point of view.

I hope that that the Club & CEO get to grips with supporter-raised issues and concerns. Should that be the case, great. Sadly, it will come too late for this particular poster.