We’ve got three regular season games left to play as I write this: Away to Rochdale and York, and at home to London.

Reflecting on the 2016 season, I’m not sure whether I should feel happy that we’ve been reasonably competitive this season (in the face of such high player turnover from last season) or whether I should be disappointed that we’ve not been able to impose ourselves on this league and be favourites for promotion rather than promotion hopefuls.

My feelings of disappointed are perhaps highlighted by the awful structure to Championship One. There are too may blow-out scores and meaningless games. This league will kill support for lower league rugby unless something is done to make the games more competitive. I believe the league needs to be split into Championship One and Championship Two, providing competitive games throughout the season similar to what we’ve seen since the league split a few weeks ago.

With regards to Club Doncaster, Club Doncaster provides security that we may otherwise not have. Look at the plight of York and Sheffield. On the other hand, being part of Club Doncaster also raises our expectations. On balance I feel the benefits should outweigh the disadvantages but the Dons have gone from 4th in the Championship to a top five side in Championship One under Club Doncaster in the last two seasons. Something isn’t working.

Has the 2016 season been one that will provide us with a platform to build on for 2017, or are we still a long way off where we need to be?

I’ll be buying my season ticket for next season because I can’t imagine life without rugby. The Dons are an important part of my life and I want to do my bit to help make us successful in the future. I admire the players because they put their necks on the line week-in, week-out for our entertainment. The commitment of the players is one of the reasons why I’ve been attracted to the sport for the last 40 years.

That's a fair accurate account of the 2016 season . I too will purchase a 2017 season ticket expecting us to be C1. but you never know !

Interesting to hear what is said at tonights fans forum !

Good post, with all that is happening in the sport at the moment, I'm glad we are part of club Doncaster, though it does seem that we have gone backwards, but I can't help thinking, where would we be if they hadn't taken over?, I would guess, and only guess, we could be in trouble. As it is we can look forward to next season, though I think we will be still in this godforsaken division. I too will be getting a season ticket.

very good post DM,especially the season Format to many gaps ,no consistency with home and away.needs a good shake up,will we get one,i doubt it but we can live in hope.

Good points DM. New squad to bed in, no bedding in for consecutive games due to injury and suspensions. ( a plague all season IMO) DR messed about with (again) A settled first choice side would have been nice to have witnessed and maybe with that would come better consecutive performances and results, which would have helped with an increase in the crowd figures. I hope that we do not have to start afresh for 2017 with yet again a new squad.

The game it would seem is going the the doldrums and fingers crossed we can be full sail next year. (no idea where that nautical analogy came from)

It's gone really quiet on here lately.

I'd be really interested to know why those who aren't posting have stopped.

After Sunday's defeat at Rochdale, our place in the play-offs isn't at threat.

Even if we lose our last two games, and Hunslet win at Rochdale we;ll still be level on points with them and we've got a better points difference. Our points difference is +161, Hunslet is +10.

The loss at Rochdale seems typical of our season: we're competitive but not good enough when playing against the top five teams. Collectively, we've now played Toulouse, Rochdale, Barrow, and York seven times and we've only recorded one win in the first of the two home games against Barrow.

Barrow are at Toulouse next Saturday. Rochdale are at home to Hunslet. Rochdale are probably favourites to finish second. Whether we play at Rochdale or Barrow means we're going to have to tough task.

Simply not good enough , that sums up the season .
Yes I know about the injuries !

Agreed. The whole season as been one of very few highs, not good enough to beat the top sides. Not very hopeful for the remainder.

Part of the problem at this level is that it's hard to build a team up from scratch because the better players are likely to get offers from other teams unless you get promoted.

That doesn't leave you in a good place to build for next season.

Personally, I don't see other clubs queuing up to sign many of our guys, especially as the better players seem to be injury prone too.

I'd be amazed if the likes of Tom Carr and Jordan Howden aren't interesting other clubs. If they go, replacing them with similar quality will be incredibly difficult if we remain in C1.

I wrote on a separate thread that Jordon Howden and Tom Carr are the two players we need in the side. We can muddle through when others don't play but we need them. I'm sure other teams will be interested in them and it'll be a shame if we can't hang onto them.

Where do we go from here? It looks as though we've either not invested our money wisely enough this season or we're not investing enough money to be able to compete with the better sides in the league. Whichever way we look at it, it has to be one or the other.

I know the club will point to the injury issues we've had but we can't ignore the evidence that we've only managed one win all season against any of the teams in the top five.

I'm sorry to say that it's the same old story and next season in championship one will be no different, the powers that be will say that they are getting enough money and spending it on quality players and that the fans aren't backing the team and don't know anything about rugby, we'll wake up powers that be and look at the dwindling support the fans do know and understand rugby and that's why there are so few remaining, certain club officials may mean well but have a delusion about how great they are in the running of the club. If only the club could get a de mulder type person interested in the game

Double Movement asks about people no longer posting on here.

Speaking personally, my season effectively ended with the Keighley match owing to an upcoming holiday and my decision to not attend away matches.

I have had a season ticket for umpteen years but will not bother renewing next year unless the fixtures are set for the vast majority of the season, the league format changes and some serious recruitment takes place.

I'm not a regular poster but I think the general level of apathy this season has been a major factor in my overall feelings for the club. I'm sorry to say but I'm wondering if I can really be bothered any more.

Perhaps I'm getting old and cynical but the entertainment factor is simply no longer there.

I'll pick and choose my matches next season or possibly go back to watching other more interesting looking matches in the area as a neutral spectator.

I hope the club are reading comments like yours, Gerry. I think it sums up many people’s gut feelings for the game (and the Dons) at the moment.

I’ve got rugby running through my veins. I can’t ever see me giving up on the Dons but the league format is a big turn-off. It’s not a quality issue for me though. I just want to see competitive games where the outcome isn’t known before the kick-off. Blow out scores and one-sided games don’t attract anyone. It certainly helps if we, as fans, believe we have a genuine chance of going up. We’ve probably all lacked that belief this season.

Carl answered my question with regards to the league format in his last In The Dugout saying the clubs will be getting together in October to discuss these and other issues. The attendance at Rochdale last Sunday was 392. The game can’t survive on crowds like this. Surely the clubs must be able to see that change must be made to try to win the fans back over before it’s too late.

I can fully understand why even the most loyal of supporters will prefer to pick and choose which games to attend in future rather than buy a season ticket. Fixtures, fixture dates, quality of opposition, whether the club shows ambition with its signings are all unknowns at the moment.
I enjoy reading everyone’s posts on here as I like to understand why people feel the way they do. The club need to understand everyone’s feelings too.

What do others fans want from the club in order for their interest to be rekindled?

For what it’s worth, here is my 12 point plan to put things right:

1) The Dons must do everything they can to get the awful structure of Championship One changed.
2) Split the league into two divisions – top eight called Championship One, bottom eight called Championship Two.
3) Play each team at home and away twice to make a 28 game season (similar to the number of games played in the Championship now).
4) All fixture dates will be known from before the start of the season.
5) Each club will play 28 competitive games against opposition of similar ability.
6) Scrap the iPro cup as it gets in the way of a proper league season being possible.
7) The Dons need to set a target of promotion, not just aim to reach the play-offs.


Signings need to be of sufficient quality to excite the fans and make everyone believe promotion is a realistic possibility.
9) We need to have a bigger squad to cover for injuries.
10) The DR with Hull should either be scrapped or made to work better for both parties. When we’ve needed help this year it seems to have been missing. We either have to be able to rely on Hull to plug our gaps or make sure we can plug the gaps ourselves with a bigger squad.
11) The squad players who are not getting regular games need to go out on loan to Championship Two sides to help their development and to keep them match fit, or else they will get fed up of not playing and leave.
12) The top team in Championship One should be promoted automatically to the Championship.
13) The second placed team in the league should be at home to the winners of a Three v Four match at the end of the season for the second promotion place.
14) The bottom two should be relegated to Championship Two with two teams being promoted from Championship Two.

1 division home & away , then everyone has to go to Canada.

I can see the merit in this. It would certainly be better than what we’ve got now.

There are a couple of wider issues that I think we need to consider which is why I believe we have to go a stage further.

Imagine you’re a fan of one of the teams in the bottom eight of the current Championship One. Would you be excited about getting thumped every week by the better sides? Does it really help them build a supporter base? It’s much better for them to be competitive in the games they play against teams of similar ability. This needs another division. Give them a chance of winning something, give them a chance of getting promoted. Success is what builds a fan base. Let’s give them a chance.

Similarly, the Dons playing Hemel Stags, Oxford and South Wales Scorpions won’t bring disillusioned Dons fans back. Look how exciting the Keighley game was the other week. We need to be playing more games like that, against teams of our own ability. This needs another division. With this structure we have a chance of getting people back.

The downside to having one division is that from mid-season onwards there will be a lot of mid-table games where nothing matters. Having promotion and relegation from two divisions gives everyone something to play for and something to fear. Games will be exciting for most teams right through to the end of the season.

I make that a 14 point plan



Some food for thought there.

I have already stated previously on RLFans that with the same fixture format next season I won't be getting a season ticket and made my feelings on the situation clear at the recent supporters meeting with the Club reps. As I said during the meeting, the Club may end up with more money out of me as a result, but only if I can actually attend all fixtures and with a third of them unknown and during the 'holiday season' it seems questionable.

For the record, I'd take an 8-team league with 28 fixtures at this level.

Cannot see anything happening for he 2017 season , not the way the RFL do

Cannot see anything happening for he 2017 season , not the way the RFL do things .

It was a 12 point plan, honest ... but two more points sneaked in and I forgot to change the original number!

I like the idea DM, whether the RFL would go for is questionable, something needs to be done.

Thanks hkr. I hope all the clubs are trying to get their heads around the problems that we see as fans. The clubs should also have a vested interest in getting it right as it's their businesses that are at stake.

Rugby League is a great game played by some very brave players. It deserves to succeed and thrive. It will never achieve its full potential if the problems that it faces aren't properly addressed.

Responding to your point 10 D/R
You should ask your coach why he is not using D/R to its potential with Hull.
He did exactly the same when he was at York and several promising Hull Players at the time including Jamie Shaul couldnt get a game.
Hull terminated the agreement and may do the same at Doncaster with this coach in charge now the under 23 competition is due to be expanded next season with several more clubs fielding under 23 teams

Lets hope either or both the Dons & Hull terminate the agreement , we could still have loan agreements .

COYD