I was part of the Fans panel group at the time In The Dugout was dropped. Club Doncaster said it was going to take a break. When I asked for it to be brought back sometime later, they said they would consider it. It never returned.
As well as answering questions, it brought the club and fans closer together. Since its demise we get to know a lot less than we used to. Releasing it at 5pm on a Friday was an ideal way to get everyone excited about the weekend game.
Things did seem to get a little personal with the way some of the questions were presented but a good interviewer should be able to ask the same pressing, probing questions in a non-aggressive, non-confrontational manner.
The Fans panel was replaced by an Advisory Group. I didn’t join the Advisory Group. I presume fans can still submit questions to be put to the club through the Advisory Group although the minutes of these meetings don’t seem to be made pubic anymore. The club used to post the minutes on their website and I used to post the minutes on here.
I think Jemmo is part of the Advisory Group. Jemmo, do you know why the club stopped posting the minutes on their website? Without publishing the minutes, we have little idea what’s being discussed. At the next Advisory meeting, could you ask if they’d start putting them on their website again please?
Regarding Keighley, I think they’ve realised that with the proposed two leagues of 10 and 10 still a possibility, they decided they must get out of League One or else they risked being cut adrift should the RFL decide there will only be 20 professional clubs.
Should 10 and 10 apply from the start of the 2024 season, the 12 Super League teams plus the top eight in the Championship next season would probably make up the 20. This would mean the bottom four in the Championship plus all of League One could be dumped. Keighley’s further strengthening gives the impression they are doing everything they can to make the top eight of the Championship next season.