LIONS SUFFER HEAVY DEFEAT AT DONCASTER

**** Photo credit – Craig Hawkhead ****

DONCASTER 74

SWINTON LIONS 6

IAN RIGG Eco-Power Stadium, Sunday

Doncaster kept up the pressure at the top with an emphatic victory over the luckless Lions. Tom Holmes opened the scoring in the second minute after an early error from the Lions and Connor Robinson converted. There was then a couple of chances for the Lions causing problems for the Doncaster defence, but the ball went to ground during the attack on both occasions. Gav Rodden tried to intercept a Doncaster pass with the line open, but the ball bounced off his chest. Robinson then exploited a gap to score under the posts on thirteen minutes and he added the conversion. More pressure from the Lions before Jacob Jones scored the third try after good pressure and Robinson converted again. The home side were handling the conditions better and went further ahead when Edine Gebbie scored in the corner seventeen minutes from the break. Two minutes later Pauli Pauli scattered the defence to score, again converted, Watson Boas was having an impressive game, and he set up Reece Lyne for the next score out on the right and in the dying seconds of the half Issac Misky and Robinson set up a second for Holmes and Robinson converted as the hooter sounded.

The Lions almost scored from the restart when Ellis Anderson broke clear only to be grounded twenty metres out, but normal service was restored when Holmes broke down the right to feed Lyne to go in for his second converted by Robinson. Aaron Lynch intercepted a stray Doncaster pass to put his side in a good position and on fifty-two minutes and this set up a great position for Jordan Brown to cross from short range and Rodden added the conversion. Lions’ winger Anderson was sent to the sinbin for dissent on fifty-four minutes. Pauli Pauli grabbed his second two minutes later from a Boas pass and this was quickly followed by a second for Gebbie with Robinson converting one of them. The Lions were not giving in and almost created a chance just after the hour, but it was Doncaster again that came strong when Robinson made a break to send Titus Gwaze over under the posts and the try was converted. Gebbie scored his third with five minutes left going over in the left corner and Robinson added his tenth conversion of the match. In the dying seconds Robinson provided the assist for the last try when he sent Muizz Mustapha over for a try under the posts and Boas playing his one hundredth game for Doncaster added the conversion.

MATCHFACTS

DONCASTER

1 Tom Holmes

2 Bureta Faraimoi

4 Reece Lyne

26 Mitieli Vulikijapani

18 Edene Gebbie

24 Watson Boas

7 Connor Robinson

27 Titus Gwaze

9 Greg Burns

25 Gadwin Springeri