I enjoy reading everyone's posts on this forum. The one thing we have in common is that we support the club and love our rugby. Interest in the club seems to be in decline if the lack of posts made on here is anything to go by.

I'd be interested to know why people feel the way they do. Please choose the two main reasons from the poll below as to why you think interest in the Dons is in decline.

I still have an interest in the Dons but after 53 years of supporting the Dons home & away I decided two years ago to stop going to the matches I found the game very boring to watch compared to what I have seen over the years I found it very hard the first few months of not going to support the Dons but I think I now have kicked my lifetime habit & unless there are some major changes to how the current game is played & administrated I can't see myself returning to watch the Dons

I wish the Dons & all there supporters good luck all the best for the future

it will be interesting to see (a) the result of this poll, and (b) see how many people can be bothered to vote. I dont think the "lack of interest" is unique to the dons look at the attendances of all the clubs in our league, they are pathetic the championship crowds are urine poor, and apart from one or two SL clubs attendances are poop. Ive been banging on about the state of the game for as long as I can remember but it falls on deaf ears, nobody seems bothered sky are only interested in SL. I dont know the answer to the issues but if someone does not shake up RL then its doomed.

Ive not clicked a vote as I think (and always have done) is that a lot of people wont travel across Donny to the keepmoat. I might be wrong , but the level of support would be greater playing where we used to play. We travel from Barnsley for home games but I have to admit for the last couple of years I have picked a choosed games to go to. 5 , 10 ,15 years ago I went everywhere , but personal circumstances change and work sometimes causes people to miss games too.Its a tough one really getting new people to come.The faithful will be there until the nursing home staff wont let us out!!

Trouble is the faithful are not as faithful as before.

No doubt we will have record season tickets AGAIN

I would watch the Dons next season if I thought that they would cut out the bull about aspirations and player quality.

But I am not going to as long as they sign NOBODIES and fool themselves that we are going places.

So this is my last post until they see sense.

Goodbye Dons and good luck .... you will need it with this lot in charge.

It's not even exciting rugby ... it's BORING!!!!

I went from going to every match home and away (where possible), to just home games, to now not going at all.

I just don't enjoy it anymore.

The thing that got me hooked on the Dons was going to away matches where there would be a decent number of Dons fans singing and having a bit of fun. That enthusiasm doesn't seem to exist anymore and match days just seem very bland.

I didn't used to understand it when long time fans would stop going completely and I thought it was some sort of badge of honour to be able to say you went to every match even when the team was playing badly but now I have other things that I would rather spend my Sunday doing.

Fair play to loyal fans that still go week in week out but I can't justify paying to do something I no longer enjoy just because of a sense of loyalty.

I set the closing date for this vote as 8th October. Would anyone who has not voted please vote before then, thanks.

I've been watching the game for the last 40 years and now find it tedious and formulaic. We seem to have quite a few willing lads, some less so, who give their all to the cause, but their limitations are plain to see. I've been to a few games this season and can't say that I've been particularly entertained by any of them. The lack of any marquee players or characters in our team makes the game sterile and predictable. The Keepmoat is not an ideal venue for a C1 team; much better a smaller stadium in an area with a RL tradition ( Bentley for instance, get the picture? ) In short, I won't be rushing back early next year to sample the non-existent atmosphere.

This year has been my sons first season watching the Dons. He is 8 years old and is now totally hooked. I've asked him why he likes it so much and he gave me a number of reasons some rugby related but a lot related to the club itself. He enjoys having his Sunday dinner before the match and watching football on the screens in the bar. He thinks the Vila mascot is fantastic. He likes the fact that the players take time to talk to him after the games. Having that access makes it so much more real for him. The DR with Hull means he watches super league so he can see if Feka or Yeaman are playing. He sat and watched the full challenge cup final because there was a link with the Dons.
In short, his experiences at the Dons have created a real rugby league fan.
We will definitely be season ticket holders next year (he is over the moon Tom Carr has signed again and keeps asking who else has).
At the end of the day we were one game away from challenging for promotion. For me it has been an enjoyable season and we can't wait for 2017.

nice post NEWDON,hope your lad enjoys many more seasons watching the Dons

Hello NewDon,

Welcome to the forum. I'm really pleased your son has got hooked after one season. I believe rugby's a great sport for the kids. Having heroes is what's it's all about at that age and being able to get close to the players is fantastic. The whole game day experience really seems to have caught his imagination.

If rugby brings your son half as much enjoyment as it's brought me over the last 40 years, then I'm sure he'll be forever grateful to you for introducing him to the game. Here's to an enjoyable 2017 for you both.

Hope your son carries on being a Don for many years to come!!

I was 12 when I saw my first match at Tattersfield, mainly because my mum & dad wouldn't let me go across town to Belle Vue.

We need to be looking after the next generation of Dons fans, us old pharts can only go on for so long.

Let's hope he tells his pals at school how good it is or better still, get the club down to his school along with all the rest in Donny.

My wife , son & I take our 4 year old grandson , he knows all the players names he even went to Barrow !
Agree we need the next generation to support our club .

re, gaining / keeping young supporters, a few seasons ago the dons players went round schools in the doncaster area to promote the club and gave away free tickets for kids as long as they were with a paying adult they got into the game. Considering our current situation with very low gates this would be a good way to get much needed support for the 2017 season, Maybe some of these kids will become supporters when they get older. The result of the poll so far is interesting CH seems to be copping for a few votes (which I totally disagree with) yet very few voters dont seem to think GT is at fault for the poor season/results/shoite rugby. What is most worrying is that up to now only 35 people have bothered to vote.