DONCASTER forward Pauli Pauli is ready to play his part in powering Richard Horne’s side up the table in their big bid to make the play-offs.

The South Yorkshire side haven’t managed that at second-tier level since 2014.

The Dons dropped down to League One at the end of the following season, finally returning to the Championship via the third-section play-offs of 2023.

They finished eighth last year, and are now aiming to conjure some consistency after an up-and-down start to the current campaign.

Saturday’s 12-6 defeat against Toulouse in France (at the Stade Michel Bendichou in Colomiers rather than the more central but out-of-action Ernest Wallon) was a second loss in four matches.

It’s London Broncos away (at the Kuflink Stadium in Northfleet, Kent rather than the capital club’s usual Wimbledon base, where pitch maintenance work is ongoing) this Saturday.

Versatile Australian star Pauli, 30, who is in his second season at Doncaster after also playing for Parramatta Eels, Newcastle Knights, Wakefield, Salford and York, has returned to action following a knee procedure – and he is enjoying being back in the fray.

It had been hoped to ‘nurse’ him through the season, but that wasn’t possible, and he had as clean-up of the problematic joint.

“It’s good to have got back out there after missing some matches, and I’m just trying to build myself up to full fitness and sharpness,” said the man who first came to the UK in 2018 and represented the Combined All Stars against England in 2021.

“I’m trying to get back to playing how I was at the start of the season, and I want to do my bit to push us on.

“We had a few new blokes come in over the close-season, and it takes a while to figure out how each other play and how combinations work best, but we’re getting there.”