I have got to say I was well impressed with the dons today, I couldn’t make my mind up if to go or not. I was glad I did go I enjoyed it if we can play like that even for half of the games we will do well,
makes me what to go to more games

I enjoyed the game also , we suffered a few injuries the starting props did not come back on , was impressed with the effort over 80 mins.

Sheffield didnt put their best team out , we had em scrambling at times.

We looked good at 6, 7 ,9 &13 today .

Agreed...some excellent individual performances today and a team that look to be gelling well already. I was pleasantly surprised and suitably encouraged. Well done to Tony and his coaching team

Thought overall it was a very entertaining match, Sheffield were probably good value for the win, with better fitness in the last quarter, but we out enthused them for long periods of the game which will put ut in good stead. Also think we would have scored more tries in the first half against a less well drilled defence.

PS...Left my team sheet somwhere. Can someone post it here?

Cheers

Glad I went today, I enjoyed the game and was encouraged by what I saw.

We've got some good young lads in the squad and I'm pretty sure we'll win
more than a few games (injuries permitting).

Hope number 6 is ok (Paul Brown ?). Looked like he twisted an ankle or Knee.

Well done to Everybody at The Dons. Keep up the good work.

COYD

1 Tommy Griffiths
22 Scott Wilson
2 Aaron Henry
3 Lee Gommersall
5 Ben Collins
6 Simon Brown
7 Craig Fawcett
8 Scott Johnson
20 Jack Ely
19 Garry Ellery
12 Ryan Steen
11 Liam Brown
13 Grant Edwards

SUBS :
14 Jake Bassinder
32 Steve Bass
9 Paul Brown
15 Daniel Stanley
10 David Bates
21 Scott Howlett

Would people like me to start putting the team sheet on rlfans before kick off. Would probably be about 2.40 when I can get it on, so i suppose its only useful for people who can access rlfans on their mobile.

if theyres any interest, i can start to put it on, so waiting for feedback.

Hi Rob it would be good for us that are at the game to have the team sheet,because there are quite a few new faces and it will let us get to know them a little easier

Great stuff today from the lads. They all played really well and i was very pleased with the performance , loads better than i was expecting.Couple of notes as well; the try from Scott Howlett was fantastic, build up and the finish, and i thought Tommy Griffiths ran his blood to water today.

Well done lads and keep it up!

Yes,totally agree on todays performance we should be able to mix it with the best
in our division this season,the potentials certainly there to build on.
Well-Done lads.

Fantastic performance today.

If that is maintained at C1 level we should do ok.

Unfortunately, the injury to the stand-off looks like a break (hope I'm wrong).

Jemmo m8, message me a reminder at next game, otherwise i will forget until i get in the habbit of posting it

A very promising performance which we were unlucky to lose
Lost our way a bit when no 6 went off, thought his kicking game reminded me of Luke Gale. May now reconsider and buy a season ticket. Thought Griffiths and no 9 were outstanding today. Lets hope they can kick on from here

Totally agree, fantastic team performance, impressed by fitness levels this early in the season.Looking forward to some great competetive games this season. Well done to Tony looks like he has put a great squad of talented lads together. Stand out performances, no 1,6,9,13 Awesome try from youngster Howlett, if thats what the kid can do at 17yrs as well as the performances from some of the other young lads the future of the Dons looks great

hope it's not true but heard in the boozer after the match that it could be a broken ankle for brown(6).
not see or heard this to be confirmed so hope it was just ale talk.

Got to say that i was really impressed with the way the guys played today, and as stated before if we can play like that and hopefully improve as we get more game time, then the season will be a good one.

Well done to the coaching team and the boys who played today, thought Tommy Griffiths was outstanding today, but cannot fault all of the guys today, must also say thought the half back pairing looked good today.

See other thread - was originally thought to be a broken ankle. Just confirmed as ligament damage. Probably out for 3 to 4 weeks.

Big well done to all the lads today, an excellent performance. Nice to see players run onto the ball and not be afraid of giving it some air.

Bodes well for the season if the lads can put on such an entertaining game after only a few training sessions.

Lets hope everyone spreads the word and push the crowds over 500.

Number 32 could be a legend like Tony (The Ghost) Zelei.

Yes, an excellent performance from the lads today.
It wasn't the strongest Eagles line-up, but even so we made them look ordinary at times.
It's a shame really that we were disrupted by injuries because we looked set fair to win at 16-12.
I don't think that the Eagles were 'deserved winners'....we had bags more territory than them and they nicked it at the end...simple as that.
Thought that 1,6,7,13 shone and 32 when he came on.
Very promising indeed.
The last thing we wanted was to be blasted in a friendly and to kill off interest.
It didn't happen...it was an entertaining game and the club should be proud of that first outing.
COYD

Like others impressed by the effort and enthusiasm albeit against a reserve SEagles side, never the less you can only play what is in front of you.
Impressed with 1, 7, 15 & 32, less so with 6. His kicking game was fine but he fell off too many tackles for me, sorry about his injury.
It was nice to sit in the stand and listen to people being enthusiastic about our team rather the doom and gloom of last season. We should be able to consolidate quite nicely this season and be a contender next.

All I wanted to see from the game was:

* A solid defence
* A team playing for each other
* A glimmer of hope from half backs....

I am delighted to say that each box was ticked and then some...

Be it an Eagles B team - I dare say that we won't face too much stiffer competition on many weeks in the League...

Also thought some of the confidence on Charge Downs, First time takes and Quickpick ups showed a real fearless attitude at times.

Tony Miller was a very successful Academy coach and worked well with bringing on young talent at Cas, I dare say this is much nearer his comfort zone, especially as no ego in this squad..
Well done all team and staff.

just been on the other site to see what the seagull fans had to say.do they actually come from this planet.what a load of tripe.it really is fantasy rugby league that some of them watch.they had me wandering if i had been to the game,or if i had really dreamed i had been.

Just to set your mind at rest, yes the vast majority of Eagles fans do come from the same planet


I think both sets of fans will have had different expectations and therefore perceptions of yesterday's game. Personally I was hoping to see a near full strength Eagles side blow away the cobwebs (and the opposition) in preparation for a flying start to the season, However, what we got was a side with a good share of youngsters and trialists given the opportunity to stake their claim to regular place in, what appears to be, a strong Eagles (sorry Seagulls

) squad. I think that was the right decision and some of them rose to the occasion and made their mark. However it was clear that they didn't really gel for long periods and a Dons side, full of enthusiasm and no little skill, had us on the rack for long periods in the game. If I was a Dons fan I would have been proud of the way your lads played and a little disappointed not to win against a team lacking some cohesion but with an impressive set of forwards. I thought you played some good rugby and scored some good tries. Had it not been for some sterling defensive work by the Eagles you could have come away with the win. I think the last ten minutes and the re-introduction of some key players showed the difference in class and we came away with the win (much to the relief of many Eagles fans). Glad to see you not only have a team, but on yesterday's showing, one to be proud of

Good luck for the season. St G.

Random question, how are Doncaster operating this year?
Is it the amateurs you recruited from the end of last year or have you gone with a new playing squad totally?
Hope you keep your finances in check because the last few years haven't exactly gone to plan. Good luck

The 2010 playing squad has a couple of players who have been there for a few seasons (Craig Lawton / Shaun Leaf) plus 4 or 5 who played last season, then the remainder are new signings.

Agreed, financial stability is now a must for the Club after recent seasons.

Thanks for the good wishes.

thanks st george for your brief explaination.if id read your post on the other site id have been more than happy to agree with you.have you honestly read some of the posts on the other site.some imply a one sided game,which it was,nt.it was a very entertaining game played by 2 very young sides and credit too both.in probability the dons side was the younger of the 2.and having up to 300supporters there from sheffield ,and can only guess this was said tongue in cheek.but lets not detract from for me anyway a very pleasant afternoon of rugby from both sides.all the best to the EAGLES for next season COYD