DONCASTER coach Richard Horne says it will be good to see the green, green grass of home again when Widnes visit the Eco-Power Stadium on Sunday.
And he is urging his still-developing side to build on a first win of a so-far stop-start season, achieved at Hunslet in their fourth competitive game, all of which have been on the road.
The Dons, with a number of new signings as they aim to improve on last year’s eighth-place finish, were frustrated by the loss of a scheduled pre-season match against Hull FC Reserves in mid-January.
That meant their sole preparation outing was the 26-10 loss to Sheffield at the Eco-Power.
After Horne’s side went down 30-4 at Bradford in round two of the Challenge Cup, another friendly, this time against Wakefield, was planned, but then fell through.
After losing 22-4 at Featherstone in their Championship opener, the Dons had a bye in round two, before being beaten 50-18 at Sheffield in round one of the 1895 Cup.
Having seen Hunslet beaten 38-10, Horne would probably have liked a follow-up game rather than a blank weekend while round four of the Challenge Cup was played out.
But he has used the time to further work with his squad – and hammer home the message that the victory in south Leeds needs to be the start of a run of solid performances.
“We’re not a million miles from where we need to be, but we have to keep working and moving forward,” explained the coach, who played his nephew Harvey Horne at fullback on dual-registration from Hull KR.
“After a disappointing defeat at Sheffield, we asked for a response against Hunslet, and in the first half at least, we got it.
“Th second half became a bit scrappy, but we saw it out to get the points, and now he have a platform to build from.”