Doncaster ready for Dewsbury battle

Doncaster’s Ryan Steen (work commitments) is unavailable for Sunday’s Northern Rail Cup fixture against Dewsbury Rams, although Carl Hughes could return from an ankle injury.

Doncaster claimed their first win of the season last week, beating London 32-4 in a performance that pleased chief executive Carl Hall.

He said: “What impressed me most was our speed of line on defence. f we can continue to do this when the warmer weather comes, we will give ourselves a big chance.”

Dewsbury coach Warren Jowitt is reporting a clean bill of health, with hooker Luke Blake coming through unscathed from last week’s 14-0 win over Keighley.

Jowitt said “We knew it was going to be a dogged game last week. The conditions played a massive part and these conditions don’t really suit us because we’ve got a fair bit of pace, but I was really happy with how we responded defensively.

“We knew we’d let ourselves down against Toulouse, but we defended very well against Keighley.”

However, Jowitt insists his side still have work to do.

He said: “I wouldn’t say we’re 100 per cent right. There are still areas we need to work on, because if I’m seeing those areas then other coaches are seeing them too.”