Sun 24th Sept: The Betfred League One Promotion Final: Doncaster v North Wales Crusaders KO 15:00

[Gomersall]

Lots of effort and endeavour from Cru but not enough guile to break Donny down when it mattered.

[Harry Stottle]

2 minutes ago, tim2 said:

The South Yorkshire derby is back!!

Not yet, the Eagles could be promoted.

[FearNothing]

...and Keighley come back down to L1 for next season.

[tim2]

6 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

Not yet, the Eagles could be promoted.

True, just the small matter of beating London or York first, then at least one, but probably both, Toulouse and Fev away. What do we reckon, 2000/1?

[clwydianrange]

Valiant effort from Crusaders but out muscled in the middle unfortunately. Congratulations to Donny and we’ll be back again next year.

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

Disappointed, obviously, but after the weird and not very wonderful regular season we've had to put up with to reach the play-off final's some achievement so I'm going into the close season happy enough. I suspect that with our limited resources, if we had won next season might have been a bit of a disaster!

[robt]

From my point of view (bit blinkered as I'm working on the match photos from today...), Crusaders missed Carl Forster in the time he was off the pitch. They didn't really have a pack leader other than him.

[weighman]

Doncaster's defence won the game for them 

Good crowd of 2500+. Great atmosphere.

[robt]

4 hours ago, weighman said:

Doncaster's defence won the game for them 

Good crowd of 2500+. Great atmosphere.

Todays attendance (2549) is the 5th highest in the clubs history at the EcoPower/Keepmoat, and the biggest since 2018 against Bradford (2780), Only back in 2007 against Castleford (4180 and 6528) and Sheffield (2753) were there bigger crowds.

[georgeb1]

13 hours ago, weighman said:

Doncaster's defence won the game for them 

Good crowd of 2500+. Great atmosphere.

welcome back to the champ, really pleased for you , plenty of local yorkshire rivalry next season 

[Harry Stottle]

15 hours ago, tim2 said:

True, just the small matter of beating London or York first, then at least one, but probably both, Toulouse and Fev away. What do we reckon, 2000/1?

If so Tim that's worth a couple of quid!

[fearnowt]

Congratulations to Doncaster.  As plenty of others have said, the defence won it. That blue wall just couldn't be broken (well, just the once ). Best of luck to you in the Championship, hopefully you can keep the momentum going and make a real success of it.

As for the Cru, I think we missed Rob Massam yesterday but really couldn't be prouder of the team. In fairness, we're not ready for the Championship and I think it would have been a step too far anyway. But what a difference a year makes, from rock bottom morale bordering on despair last year, to feeling full of confidence and hope today. We might have lost the game yesterday, but by our own measure of success we feel like winners.

[DI Keith Fowler]

7 minutes ago, fearnowt said:

Congratulations to Doncaster.  As plenty of others have said, the defence won it. That blue wall just couldn't be broken (well, just the once ). Best of luck to you in the Championship, hopefully you can keep the momentum going and make a real success of it.

As for the Cru, I think we missed Rob Massam yesterday but really couldn't be prouder of the team. In fairness, we're not ready for the Championship and I think it would have been a step too far anyway. But what a difference a year makes, from rock bottom morale bordering on despair last year, to feeling full of confidence and hope today. We might have lost the game yesterday, but by our own measure of success we feel like winners.

I did wonder this, it might be better to be knocking on the door for a few years first. 

[robt]

19 minutes ago, fearnowt said:

Congratulations to Doncaster.  As plenty of others have said, the defence won it. That blue wall just couldn't be broken (well, just the once ). Best of luck to you in the Championship, hopefully you can keep the momentum going and make a real success of it.

As for the Cru, I think we missed Rob Massam yesterday but really couldn't be prouder of the team. In fairness, we're not ready for the Championship and I think it would have been a step too far anyway. But what a difference a year makes, from rock bottom morale bordering on despair last year, to feeling full of confidence and hope today. We might have lost the game yesterday, but by our own measure of success we feel like winners.

It was a hell of a game to watch, I'm a fan, but, I was working on it at the same time, and, despite the inner confidence, I didn't really feel 100% sure until Smeatons try at the end (after a Tony Kemp like scoop from Greg Burns).

I feel that Cru missed Massam massively yesterday, as much as he offers going forward, his experience and ability in defence is just as important. Thought the right edge stood up well to Fonua and Faraimo, and theres definitely a lot of positives to take out of the game for them.

Its a question of how you build for next season, but, with Forster at the top, and a board that are definitely all pulling the right way, theres a lot to be looking forward to.

From a Donny point of view, we need to get a couple of backs sorted, as you get the feeling that Misi Taulapapa will retire now (yesterday was his 5th playoff final, and his first win), which means that he would need replacing (a lot also depends on if we retain Corion and Sanderson, who've struggled with injuries at times). 
Theres also the question of whether Boas remains, as I'm sure the deal he was offered back in PNG will crop up again, and, if he leaves, we'll need another hooker/half back.
The final area I think we need strength in, is prop. 

[sentoffagain2]

       I think Donny will be ok in the Championship.They will need to add players but if they get the mix right not too many old or young can build a competitive team.

[gogledd]

Can I add my congratulations to Doncaster on the win at the Eco-Power Stadium yesterday. It was a great atmosphere, with lots of noise, colour and entertainement. I thought we fared well and at 8 - 0 at half time our fans were still confident that our lads could do it; we'd come from behind before and won, and it was close as could be. The Doncaster defence was incredible, no matter how we tried it took us until after 70 minutes to break through. It was settles by a really good Donny try at the end and I thought the score genuinely reflected the game. Very best wishes to the Doncaster players and staff for next season and a huge thanks to the fans that came over at the end of the game to wish us well and a safe journey home.

A few things for the Donny fans to take up with the Doncaster Stadium management for next season:

1. Charging a team bus and a supporters club bus £20 each to park is incredibly stupid. Our fans chose to drink on the Beefeater as they didn't feel that was the warmest of welcomes.

2. Over officious stewarding. We were approached aggressively from the get go; one steward had an atrocious attitude to our fans. A former police officer heard one steward say "this lot looks like trouble!" We're probably the friendliest bunch of fans you're likely to meet! The same steward even took a grapefruit-sized beachball of one of the junior players, who had played in the warm up. He actually grabbed one of our fans by the throat while hugging Carl Forster post-match. I'll be forwarding a formal complaint. I recognise this isn't stewarding organised by Doncaster RLFC but they do need to be aware of how fans are respected and treated by the current staff.

3. Members bar. £5 to get in the post-match area then pay a fiver a pint needs addressing. Again, a stadium management decision that needs changing.

That aside overall we had a fantastic day out and appreciate the  plaudits the Club received in person and on social media.

[robt]

16 hours ago, gogledd said:

Can I add my congratulations to Doncaster on the win at the Eco-Power Stadium yesterday. It was a great atmosphere, with lots of noise, colour and entertainement. I thought we fared well and at 8 - 0 at half time our fans were still confident that our lads could do it; we'd come from behind before and won, and it was close as could be. The Doncaster defence was incredible, no matter how we tried it took us until after 70 minutes to break through. It was settles by a really good Donny try at the end and I thought the score genuinely reflected the game. Very best wishes to the Doncaster players and staff for next season and a huge thanks to the fans that came over at the end of the game to wish us well and a safe journey home.

A few things for the Donny fans to take up with the Doncaster Stadium management for next season:

1. Charging a team bus and a supporters club bus £20 each to park is incredibly stupid. Our fans chose to drink on the Beefeater as they didn't feel that was the warmest of welcomes.

2. Over officious stewarding. We were approached aggressively from the get go; one steward had an atrocious attitude to our fans. A former police officer heard one steward say "this lot looks like trouble!" We're probably the friendliest bunch of fans you're likely to meet! The same steward even took a grapefruit-sized beachball of one of the junior players, who had played in the warm up. He actually grabbed one of our fans by the throat while hugging Carl Forster post-match. I'll be forwarding a formal complaint. I recognise this isn't stewarding organised by Doncaster RLFC but they do need to be aware of how fans are respected and treated by the current staff.

3. Members bar. £5 to get in the post-match area then pay a fiver a pint needs addressing. Again, a stadium management decision that needs changing.

That aside overall we had a fantastic day out and appreciate the  plaudits the Club received in person and on social media.

I'll pass those on to the relevant people, our fan/club engagement group meets soon, so they'll pass these on, I know the issue with the bar has been going on all season, and is something that needs looking at.

From a personal point of view, I've never had an issue with the North Wales fans, yeah, you can be boisterous, but, thats the nature of your support. I'd much rather deal with you guys, than some other groups of fans I've experienced.

Anyway, I don't want to take away from what was a good game, despite the low score, and hope you guys have a great season next year.

[Barley Mow]

16 hours ago, gogledd said:

Can I add my congratulations to Doncaster on the win at the Eco-Power Stadium yesterday. It was a great atmosphere, with lots of noise, colour and entertainement. I thought we fared well and at 8 - 0 at half time our fans were still confident that our lads could do it; we'd come from behind before and won, and it was close as could be. The Doncaster defence was incredible, no matter how we tried it took us until after 70 minutes to break through. It was settles by a really good Donny try at the end and I thought the score genuinely reflected the game. Very best wishes to the Doncaster players and staff for next season and a huge thanks to the fans that came over at the end of the game to wish us well and a safe journey home.

A few things for the Donny fans to take up with the Doncaster Stadium management for next season:

1. Charging a team bus and a supporters club bus £20 each to park is incredibly stupid. Our fans chose to drink on the Beefeater as they didn't feel that was the warmest of welcomes.

2. Over officious stewarding. We were approached aggressively from the get go; one steward had an atrocious attitude to our fans. A former police officer heard one steward say "this lot looks like trouble!" We're probably the friendliest bunch of fans you're likely to meet! The same steward even took a grapefruit-sized beachball of one of the junior players, who had played in the warm up. He actually grabbed one of our fans by the throat while hugging Carl Forster post-match. I'll be forwarding a formal complaint. I recognise this isn't stewarding organised by Doncaster RLFC but they do need to be aware of how fans are respected and treated by the current staff.

3. Members bar. £5 to get in the post-match area then pay a fiver a pint needs addressing. Again, a stadium management decision that needs changing.

That aside overall we had a fantastic day out and appreciate the  plaudits the Club received in person and on social media.

Most of the things you mention are disruptive, off-putting and not ideal for fans. You could see them putting people off a return visit in future, but are the type of thing that you get from time to time at the occasional ground. Hopefully they can be addressed.

The thing that sticks out to me is the visiting club's team bus being charged to park at the ground. I know the operational rules require there to be parking set aside for the team bus and X number of the visiting club's officials, but am not sure if it specifies that this is to be free of charge. Do you know if this was the case when NWC visited for the regular season game against Doncaster? I don't know if this is something that happens at many clubs, but it really surprised me.

[gogledd]

8 hours ago, robt said:

I'll pass those on to the relevant people, our fan/club engagement group meets soon, so they'll pass these on, I know the issue with the bar has been going on all season, and is something that needs looking at.

From a personal point of view, I've never had an issue with the North Wales fans, yeah, you can be boisterous, but, thats the nature of your support. I'd much rather deal with you guys, than some other groups of fans I've experienced.

Anyway, I don't want to take away from what was a good game, despite the low score, and hope you guys have a great season next year.

Appreciate you passing my comments on. I've passed them on to the fella that runs your Facebook page (Darryl). I've also completed the feedback form I received from the Stadium and encouraged our fans to do the same. Finally I've written a formal complaint about one particular, confrontational and aggressive steward to the Eco-Power stadium. Whether they do anything about it is another matter. Hopefully they take complaints from customers seriously

Edited September 26, 2023 by gogledd

[gogledd]

8 hours ago, Barley Mow said:

Most of the things you mention are disruptive, off-putting and not ideal for fans. You could see them putting people off a return visit in future, but are the type of thing that you get from time to time at the occasional ground. Hopefully they can be addressed.

The thing that sticks out to me is the visiting club's team bus being charged to park at the ground. I know the operational rules require there to be parking set aside for the team bus and X number of the visiting club's officials, but am not sure if it specifies that this is to be free of charge. Do you know if this was the case when NWC visited for the regular season game against Doncaster? I don't know if this is something that happens at many clubs, but it really surprised me.

I can't remember it happening to our supporters bus before but from memory I think previously we got dropped off and our coach driver went elsewhere to park then we phoned him once we were ready to leave.

I've driven a 17-seater minibus there before with North Wales Cru fans, 4 of them with mobility problems, one was well into his 80's. Even though I had a blue badge for the vehicle I was asked for £10 to park in a disability parking space! I refused, dropped off my passengers, parked elsewhere and returned to collect everyone after the game. I did write to Doncaster RLFC regarding this and was told it was the policy of the then Keepmoat Stadium management

We had a similar issue at Oldhams Boundary Park ground at the play-off earlier this month. We were again charged £20 for the Supporter Club bus....It seems like football stadiums like to add on charges for visiting fans. 

 

At Midlands Hurricanes new venue, The Alexandra Stadium, fans were asked to pay an additional £5 to go into the post-match bar. Guess what? we all got on the bus and spent our money in our local on our return....so perhaps its not just football clubs who are greedy.

These policies, in my  view lose revenue for the venues. It might not be a lot of money, but it doesn't sit well with the fans, who vote with their feet and go elsewhere rather than putting money behind the bar. I have to say that most clubs run by and on behalf of rugby league clubs are usually welcoming and appreciate supporters spending their cash in the ground.

Edited September 26, 2023 by gogledd

[robt]

3 hours ago, gogledd said:

Appreciate you passing my comments on. I've passed them on to the fella that runs your Facebook page (Darryl). I've also completed the feedback form I received from the Stadium and encouraged our fans to do the same. Finally I've written a formal complaint about one particular, confrontational and aggressive steward to the Eco-Power stadium. Whether they do anything about it is another matter. Hopefully they take complaints from customers seriously

I hope the issue with the steward is dealt with. The majority of those that work on matchdays, have done for a long time, and know the craic with opposing fans. 

I'm a little privileged in that I get to see the other side of the matchday experience a lot of the time, and, I have to say, that the only way things will get changed, is if you give feedback. 

[gogledd]

2 hours ago, robt said:

I hope the issue with the steward is dealt with. The majority of those that work on matchdays, have done for a long time, and know the craic with opposing fans. 

I'm a little privileged in that I get to see the other side of the matchday experience a lot of the time, and, I have to say, that the only way things will get changed, is if you give feedback. 

Appreciate all the responses and amazing comments our fans have received from Doncaster fans. I'd like to emphasise our beef is with Doncaster stadium management and certainly not with Doncaster fans or their Club. All the very best for next season..and hopefully we can join you in the Championship at the end of 2024.