so we haven't got a clue who might be in the squad and who might be playing, brilliant doesn't fill anybody with much confidence.

Dons ... the Forrest Gump of rugby ....
The Dons are like a box of chocolates .... etc

Squad not on Official RL Site either.
I do not know whose responsibility it is to put the squad on our site but have a good idea whose responsibility it is to put it on the RL site.
Its all about communication or lack of it !

Kesik , Foster, Feka & Carr should be available according to other sources.
COYD

No Jordon Howden on Sunday and Matt Nicholson is ruled out for the rest of the season. Not good news!

[urlhttp://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/doncaster-dons/doncaster-rlfc-v-barrow-raiders-dons-must-be-at-their-best-to-beat-barrow-thornton-1-8040500[/url

Betting for Sunday's game is interesting:

The Dons can be backed at evens with Bet365. They have Barrow at 5/6.

Barrow can be backed at 11/10 with Ladbrokes. They have the Dons at 8/11.

Due to the disagreements between bookies, on the handicap, you can back the Dons at 10/11 getting a two point start. You can also back Barrow at 10/11 getting a two point start.

I thought this game was about a 50/50 call before learning that Jordon Howden is out. As much as I don't like to say it I reckon the Dons are now slight underdogs. The bet on Barrow at 11/10 seems to be the smart bet.

Bet365 ... Dons + 2 10/11 or 11/10 for the win.

Skybet 10/11 both teams.

Without recognised half backs, I couldn't back us, even with 2 start.

We may scrape a win but I fully agree, with no recognised/established 6 & 7 Barrow should be favourites.

Barrow to win by 6

Big game from our forwards is required today & get on top of Barrow early doors.
We beat them with 1 short so we can do it again Dons by 7.

COYD & come on you fans get down & support the Boys.

The story with regards to Howden .... was .... it (his bad hip) was causing him discomfort, but that it was manageable with a bit if rest etc until something could be sorted out at the end of the season.

So why is he not turning out against Barrow?
He hasn't played for weeks now ... and IS rested!

All the time he doesn't play he loses vital match fitness and will be a shadow of himself when and if he does turn out.

My conclusion is that it is worse than it was painted and we are all but shafted.
When and if he does play it will be too late AND it is only gonna make the problem worse.

Big ,big mistake not sorting this out earlier ....

I could be wrong, but I recognise the smell of fish ....

It does have a bearing on me viewing next year, what with Toronto being allowed to do a Toulouse.
I am not watching any more rugby in this division after this season.
It's crap!

We seem to have landed ourselves in a mess with the Jorden Howden injury situation. Couple that with Jordie Hedges suspension for almost half of the rest of the season and we're in a right old mess.

I know we can't have superstars waiting in the wings should these things happen but I can't help thinking that we should have tried to make sure the DR with Hull gave us better cover if we needed it, given situations like this.

I really hope my pessimism for today's game is unfounded but there is a huge pressure on our forwards today to over-run Barrow. I read on the Barrow site that they're bringing a couple of supporters coaches down. It should make for a good atmosphere.

Not all of it is 'crap' S/O. Toulouse and York both dished up some top rugby yesterday, great entertainment. It's just a pity the spectacle was ruined by some very dubious reffing from Mr Miklauskas.

I think the quality amongst the top eight clubs is fairly decent. It's all the one-sided matches against the rest that spoil it. We've only seen two "proper games" at the Keepmoat this season when we played York and Barrow before. To say we're nearly into August, that's a poor return for fans.

The thought of more of the same next season isn't very inspiring. We really need to win today to help give us some belief that we can get out of this league for everyone's sake.

I am not questioning the standard of the play, no, there are some good sides.
It"s the frequency of games (lack of) and that owing to a good side of championship level being plonked in the division two years on the trot, there is effectively only one promotion place.

Cant we just say we don't want to play today and then arrange it for a midweek when it suits us better when the injured lads are back? It works for some teams!

We are fooking awful.
Walking out at halftime.
Not coming again.

Appointing a charlatan like Thornton was a huge mistake. The only ability he has as a coach is the ability to strip players of all skill and confidence.

Thank goodness we had a change of heart and had a Family day at home. Obviously very well done Barrow and if they are the side that gets the second spot so be it. It certainly won't be the Dons. Listening to Noble during the semi final broadcast and it would appear that Toronto will be just as good if not better than Toulouse next year. Gawd help us.

For me it has to be a change at the top. Not holding my breath.

The club is fooked, finished.
Who the hell apart from season ticket holders are going to buy into that crap.
Hardly a pay at the gate supporter will return.

And all of this was predictable.

I feel sorry for Thornton on two levels .... need I elaborate?

Please do

Well, he's a crap coach in a crap set up.
He bought into the dream like we all did.

Didn't make it today, but watching the Twitter feed, it sounds like a proper drubbing. Discipline has cost us all season, and you are never going to compete with a man down let alone two in the bin. Can't see what positives can be taken from today.
IMO if we don't get up this year can't see it happening without the big money similar to the foreign two have to secure promotion.

Hall & Thornton have to take a good look at themselves , couldn't/ wouldn't sign a half back b4 the deadline.
Tom Carr played 6 in attack & on the wing in defence ,couldn't tackle must have been injured . Wright had a stinker & Kes was injured most of the game !

Discipline was shocking AGAIN.

What a disappointment , Barrow showed us to play much quicker .
Only plus was the try at the end. Try of the season.

Well, the writing was on the wall as soon as the team sheet was (eventually) revealed.

No recognised half backs pretty much results in the lack of any attacking ability and puts all the pressure on the defensive effort which has been sadly lacking against all but the whipping boys in this division.

Presumably the late announcement of the team was to hide the deficiency from the Barrow coaching staff but as a ploy(?), it was pretty obvious from early on that it was going to be another long afternoon for the Donny faithful.

It's been no secret for a number of weeks that we're lacking in the key positions of 6 & 7 but what have the coaching staff done to shore things up? Much as I don't like dual registration, don't Hull FC have any players kicking their heals on a Sunday afternoon? Aren't there any local amateur lads who play in the halves on a regular basis who could do a job for us for a couple of weeks? Surely it's got to be better than sticking Kes into scrum half, a tactic that has already been a proven failure in the Hunslet match.

I'll see out this season, given that I've been daft enough to buy a season ticket, but while ever we're expected to watch dross and have a crappy league set-up which has minimal meaningful fixtures three or four weeks between each home fixture, I think I'll find better things to do with my Sunday afternoons.

If Donny are serious about having a RL team going forwards, there's got to be some serious changes from the top and the coaching personnel because it's just not working.

Sure I saw someone rip up a season ticket up.
Was it one of many who bought the 4 ticket for the price of 3 deal.

Ah yes, the discipline - how did I manage to forget it?

It's another facet of the Donny attitude that once we start looking beaten, the cheap shots come in.

Walton's tackle was so late that the ball had been passed a couple of times before he made contact.

I don't expect to see 13 angels on the field but I do expect to see fair challenges, the game's tough enough as it is.

Do we have any stats re completion rates for the match either? From the amount of ball we coughed up, it must be pretty minimal.

Again, any half-decent coach would get these areas sorted.