DONCASTER reacquainted themselves well with the second tier in 2024 after an eight-year absence, sitting two places and three points shy of the play-offs.
The aim will be to finish even higher this season and Richard Horne has assembled a smaller squad – shorn of a few promotion heroes – to do that.
Their six new additions include an impressive front-row pairing of Josh Bowden – who has played almost 200 Super League games and helped Wakefield win the Championship last year – and Jordan Baldwinson from Bradford.
Throw in another veteran, Andre Savelio, and former Leigh man Jacob Jones in the back row, and the Dons should have the foundation to go toe-to-toe with most teams at this level.
Combine that with an equally experienced backline, including Craig Hall, Luke Briscoe and Reece Lyne, plus a dual-registration deal with Hull FC, and the South Yorkshire side appear well set to push on.
Watch out for… A strong push down the home straight. To allow for work on the pitch during the football off-season, Doncaster won’t play at the Eco-Power Stadium between June 1 and July 27. The knock-on effect is a fixture list in which six of their final eight matches are at home, so if they are in a decent position with a couple of months remaining, this could be a big advantage.
Squad: 1 Craig Hall, 2 Bureta Faraimo, 3 Brad Hey, 4 Reece Lyne, 5 Luke Briscoe, 6 Ben Johnston, 7 Connor Robinson, 8 Brad Knowles, 9 Greg Burns, 10 Suaia Matagi, 11 Sam Smeaton, 12 Alex Sutcliffe, 13 Loui McConnell, 14 Jacob Jones, 15 Jordan Baldwinson, 16 Pauli Pauli, 17 Josh Bowden, 18 Edene Gebbie, 20 Isaac Misky, 21 Tyla Hepi, 23 Jason Tali, 24 Watson Boas, 25 Ilikaya Mafi, 33 Andre Savelio.
Rugby League World predicts: 8th
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 505 (February 2025)
