DONCASTER coach Richard Horne admitted his team’s final-round performance at home to Halifax pretty much summed up their season – plenty of promise, but a lack of end product.

The South Yorkshire side, who have long-term ambitions of playing in Super League, had targeted the play-offs two years after coming through the League One version to make the second tier for the first time since 2015.

Things were looking promising in early August, when the Dons had eleven wins from 18 league outings and were in the top six.

But hopes of staying in the play-off places crumbled amid six straight defeats, culminating in the 24-16 loss to Halifax, meaning an eighth-place finish for the second season running.

The Dons were 16-0 up at the break, with Horne – who has been at helm since mid-2017, when he succeeded Gary Thornton – left frustrated by the concession of four tries in the second 40 minutes.

“If there’s a game that summed up our season, it’s probably that one,” said the former Hull FC star.

“In the first half, we had an 85 percent completion rate, scored three tries and were in control of the game.

“The conditions were wet, so it was about keeping things nice and direct, getting to end of sets, putting in decent kicks and staying on the front foot, and that message was reinforced at half-time.

“It was a simple game plan, but we went away from it, going lateral and making errors. Our second-half completion rate was down around 50 percent.

“Do that against a good side like Halifax and they will punish you, and that’s what happened. We put ourselves under pressure and they took advantage.

“We seem to implode; it’s been the story of the back-end of our season, and it’s frustrating.”

The defeat spoiled the club’s farewell to retiring duo Ben Johnston, the former York, Halifax and Ireland halfback, and Jason Tali, the ex-Papua New Guinea centre.