DONCASTER coach Richard Horne is looking forward to pitting his wits against London Broncos – and getting another gauge of how far the club has come since finally winning promotion from League One in 2023.
The South Yorkshire side came up from the previous third tier via play-off success after four failed attempts at getting through the end-of-season slug-out.
Since then they have consolidated, with successive eighth-place finishes in the old-style Championship – and now they want to make their mark in the merged division.
Doncaster missed out in the application process for a spot in this year’s expanded Super League.
But they remain committed to at some stage reaching the top flight for what would be only the second time in the club’s history (after 1994-95), with chief executive Carl Hall beavering away behind the scenes to make sure their grading score is as high as possible while the club continue to live within their means.
Horne, at the helm since 2017, is desperate to do his bit with bright results on the pitch – and his charges have won seven out of eight in the league so far this season.
The test against full-time unbeaten leaders London, who head north on Sunday, is similar to that of last year against Toulouse, who went on to win the Grand Final on their way to Super League.
They were toppled 10-6 at the Eco-Power Stadium, providing inspiration ahead of the Broncos’ visit for what many, Horne included, consider a stronger Doncaster squad.
“We’re in a good place and happy with a lot of what we have done,” he said.
“But there is a long way to go and we still have work to do. Playing London will be a big challenge, but it’s one we’re looking forward to.”
The two sides will then do it all over again in the capital on the weekend of May 16-17, having been drawn against each other in the quarter-finals of the 1895 Cup.