1st Round draw

Thank you.. Subject to Pitch availability maybe ha ha

Thanks Azza - good to know. Will be interesting to see what kind of team we have. It sounds as if PD expects to have answers from all the current squad who have been offered new contracts by Friday of this week - let's hope so anyway - pre-season is getting closer!

You joke about the pitch ionly, but there are serious questions surrounding its condition, serious questions which seem to inflame emotions in some quarters about priorities.

Ideally sport in Doncaster in general and DRFC should co-exist and prosper, but is it that simple?

I see now that the Dons have been drawn at home in the semi final of the Northern Rail Cup with “the tie at the Keepmoat Stadium, to be played on either June 27, 29 or 30” (per the DFP).

This prompted me to listen again to the recent interview on Rovers Player with Andy Thompson, the head groundsman, who at that time was looking forward to 5 weeks of grass growth on the nwly laid pitch free of use from the end of May when they reseeded it. He talked of “a few matches coming up in July”. In fact there will now be this match on 30 June, just over a month from the reseeding and then successive home RL games (4 of them) in each of the following 4 weeks.

Much as I wish the Dons well I wonder whether it is wise to imperil the future of the pitch when the consequences for the Rovers’ survival in the Championship could thereby be put at risk. The Dons’ average attendance last year was 731 and even with twice that, does it justify the risk to a surface whose quality is so important for soccer, but which is largely incidental for rugby yet so much more churned up by the physicality of the game?

It would be interesting to hear Mr Thompson's opinion of the impact of this on the long term viability of the surface.

HEY Hey Hey

Could not find Donny listed in League ONE.

WE ARE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP - IT IS OFFICIAL NOW AT LAST