DONCASTER coach Richard Horne is looking forward to having experienced Andre Savelio to call on after finally handing another close-season pack recruit Jordan Baldwinson a debut – and his 200th career appearance.
The South Yorkshire side, keen to kick on after consolidating in the Championship last year, have had to play the waiting game over the pair, who were previously with Huddersfield and Bradford respectively.
Former St Helens, Warrington and Hull man Savelio, 30, whose 2024 campaign was limited by concussion issues, is believed to be nearing full fitness.
Ex-Leeds, Featherstone, Wakefield and York player Baldwinson, also 30, hadn’t featured since July due to a knee injury until coming off the bench during the 10-6 home win over Toulouse, which put Doncaster seventh.
“I’d been on 199 matches for a while, and it felt great to finally get out there, make my Doncaster debut and help get the win,” he said.
“It started off as a knee issue, then I had a calf problem, and it took some time to sort, but I stuck at it and I’ve done a lot of fitness work to make sure that when an opportunity came, I was ready.
“Rich told me to go out there, make sure I did the basic things right, and just enjoy playing again, and I did.
“I’ll get fully up to speed with more games, and hopefully I have another 100 appearances in me still.”
Doncaster head to York on Sunday seeking a third league win of the season, and Baldwinson added: “We worked hard in the build-up to the Toulouse match, and you could see that out on the pitch.
“We knew it would be physical, and that we would have to match them in that aspect, and we defended well and showed some grit and determination.
“There were a lot of positives in that performance, and the signs of progression are there.
“Now we have to build on the win and try to carry some momentum into the next match.”
