Dons v Knights Match Preview : Sat Mar 23, 2013 12:49 am
York City Knights are this weekend's visitors to the Keepmoat Stadium which has been billed as a must win game for the Dons. This Kingstone Press Championship round 8 game has a 3:00pm kick-off on Sunday.Dons' head coach Tony Miller looks set to welcome back club skipper Kyle Kesik whilst Danny Cowling and Kyle Trout (Wakefield dual registration players) are both in contention for a place in Miller's 18 man squad. Liam Kay of Wakefield is also available for selection after playing at Swinton last week.
Miller has added another loan player to his injury hit squad with Ben Blackmore of Huddersfield Giants who joins on an initial month long deal. 20 year-old Blackmore is a physically imposing winger who stands at 6' 2" and weighs in at 100kg. The former Castleford Tigers flyer has Super League experience and joins team mate Josh Johnson at the Dons.
On the injury front, Lee Waterman looks set to miss out against his former club with a groin strain and Mark Castle's chances of a comeback is rated at 50/50. Carl Hughes aggravated a pectoral injury at Swinton and will be out for approximately six weeks. Mick Butterfield will slot into his usual role as the Dons full back.
Matt Carbutt could return to action in a month's time after tearing a knee ligament but Liam Cunningham's season looks to be over after a scan revealed significant damage to his shoulder injury. 23 year-old Cunningham now needs surgery to correct the injury he sustained in the club's opening league game of the season against Dewsbury.
Miller said: "We've got a busy Easter period coming up and I've tried to bulk up the squad in readiness for our forthcoming fixtures against Sheffield and Halifax which will both be very tough games.
"Some players will be rested this weekend and I will do my best to keep the squad fit and healthy as we look ahead to those two games in just four days."
The Dons fell to a 14-6 defeat against Swinton last time out and Miller is determined to get his team back to winning ways. He said: "I thought we defended really well last week but we need to be more clinical in attack and take our chances when presented to us.
"The boys have shown plenty of effort and enthusiasm in the last couple of games but we just need to play that bit smarter and get back on track with a good win on Sunday.
"York had an off day last weekend against Keighley but we won't underestimate them as they're a good side who have some quality players throughout their squad."
York's head coach Gary Thornton has doubts over James Ford and Simon Brown, while Adam Sullivan (knee) faces two weeks on the side-lines.
Thornton is resolute to bounce back from last week's 34-0 defeat at Keighley Cougars and said: "We've reviewed it to death and we've put it to bed now. I'm hoping it was just a blip and we can recover from it.
"We definitely require some kind of reaction, because I'm really disappointed with how things panned out.
"The Keepmoat Stadium is a big pitch, so we'll try to get it wide and attack on the fringes.
"It's a different challenge to playing at home or at Keighley - it's a nice open pitch, so it'll be good to get out there and try to play some good rugby."
Austin Bell looks set to return to the Knights' squad after a recent bout of illness and Nathan Freer has re-signed to the club after playing rugby union for Bishop Burton College which was a part of his student scholarship.
Former Dons prop forward Fran Welsh is currently at York on trial and played for their under 20's on Thursday night against a Featherstone side who won the game 52-26.
It promises to be a great afternoon of top quality rugby league and don't forget that season pass holders can bring a friend for just £5.
We're also launching our new match day magazine at the game (#COYD) which has an extra eight pages of content for the same price (£2). Don't miss this one whatever you do - come on you Dons!
Match Day Sponsors:
Main match sponsor: Corsan (Northern) Ltd, Match ball sponsor: Full Effex Security
The club would like to thank our sponsors for their kind support.
Previous Five Meetings:
19th February 2012: York City Knights win 29-18 at Keepmoat Stadium
4th July 2010: York City Knights win 32-16 at Huntington Stadium
28th March 2010: Doncaster RLFC win 40-24 at Keepmoat Stadium
15th August 2008: Doncaster RLFC win 34-32 at Keepmoat Stadium
5th May 2008: Doncaster RLFC win 25-14 at Huntington Stadium
Match Day Admission:
Polite notice: please purchase your match day ticket from the stadium's ticket office before entering the turnstiles.
Adults £15, concessions £12, juniors (5-16) £3 and under 5's go free. Call the ticket office on 01302 762576 if you require more information.
Referee:
M Thomason