Kingstone Press Championship preview: Hunslet Hawks v Doncaster

Despite their 54-18 defeat to Leigh, Barry Eaton the Hunslet coach said he could still take some positives out of the game.

““We had a 75 per cent possession against us in the first half and Bradford probably had the perfect half of rugby,” he said.

“The fact that we were able to come out in the second half and compete was really pleasing, it was a positive response and showed a real good mentality from the players.

“I’ve seen a few of Doncaster’s games and in spells they’ve been very good and looked a real dangerous team. They’ve probably not put in an 80 minute performance so they’ll be seeing Sunday as a real opportunity to get their first win.

“We’re going alright, last Sunday’s result hasn’t blighted us at all. We know they’ll come firing but we’ll be ready for them.”

Prop James Houston prop broke his hand in the warm last week and will be out for about four weeks while his possible replacement Lewis Reed sustained a knee ligament injury and may well be out for the same amount of time.

Doncaster player/coach Paul Cooke said: “Last week we were completely up against it. I was out, Richard Wilkinson and Danny Nicklas were still out and we had two new half backs  who hadn’t played together. What I asked of the players was a bit of commitment and I thought they gave us that.

“With myself and Richard Wilkinson back this week and one or two others who are close to being fully fit, we’re not too far away from having a team on the field that we feel can really challenge.

“Hunslet are a good team, Barry has recruited really well in the off season with the people they needed in key positions like Jack Lee, Andy Kain and Simon Brown. They’ve gone about their business in the right manner and can be a very dangerous team.

“I wouldn’t read too much into the Bradford result. They’ve been very difficult to beat in the games they have played at home. We know what we’re in for.”