DONCASTER hooker Connor Jones is looking forward to the big home clash with London Broncos on Sunday week, April 26.
But the experienced Australian insists Richard Horne’s side won’t be taking their eye off the ball with an 1895 Cup first-round meeting with Salford at the Eco-Power Stadium coming up first this Saturday.
The Broncos and the Dons have been setting the pace in the second tier, with the South Yorkshire side winning seven of their eight league matches so far, including a 78-8 home trouncing of Salford.
They have just had a bye round, and went into it on the back of a 46-0 derby success at Sheffield, their sixth league victory on the spin since a 26-24 setback at Midlands Hurricanes on February 1.
Close-season signing Jones, 33, who played for the former version of Salford in the middle of two stints at Featherstone, feels the reshaped team are building nicely, but says there are still areas to work on.
“We were really pleased with the way we played at Sheffield,” explained the two-try star, who was with Queensland Cup side Northern Pride before coming to the UK in 2019.
“We didn’t expect that kind of scoreline, because they are a good team, but we started really strongly, getting some good field position and posting some points, and we were able to keep it going.
“Keeping them to zero was great. We worked hard to defend our line, and we know we are going to have to do that when we play London, so hopefully it will stand us in good stead.
“But within a good performance overall there were a couple of scrappy patches, and we know there is more to come from us.”
Jones says he has settled in at the club, adding: “I was one of a number of new blokes, so we have been learning how each other play and building those combinations, and hopefully we are getting a bit better each week.”