23 March 2014

Territorial dominance was asserted by Featherstone throughout the opening stages but Rovers were unable to capitalise on this pressure. This proved costly as with just under twenty minutes gone Mike Emmet was held up, before Dave Scott whistled through to take the lead. Doncaster were soon knocking on the door again, as Greg Worthington was forced to make a try saving tackle on Emmet, only for a kick through to be pounced on by Jay Pitts under the sticks. Enhancing the home sides lead. Desperate to gain a foothold in the match Featherstone reapplied pressure to the Doncaster line. Andy Kain slid through a clever grubber kick which was tapped behind for a dropout. Then just a minute from half time Keegan Hirst offloaded to Andy Bostock, who bombarded his way over, only to knock on over the line. Moore however, was determined to have the final say, as he noticed the defence was offside down the right, so chipped the ball over them. It then bounced back into his clutches and he was able to feed it inside to Ian Hardman, who was in support and rushed away to score to the side of the posts. Moore then added the conversion to halve the deficit, in what proved to be the final action of the first half. 12-6

Early in the second period the home side made their intentions evident, as they elected to take a penalty kick at goal and extend their lead to eight points.14-6. Rovers responded well, as Briggs' grubber forced a dropout, increasing the pressure. With the next attack the ball was spread right, where Kyle Briggs made the correct decision, delaying his pass, before utilising the run of Ian Hardman, who dashed through to score his second of the afternoon. Rovers appeared to have entered a purple patch, as the home side were clearly rattled, as shown by their restart going out on the full. This enabled the visitors to parade downfield, where Andy Kain exhibited his flawless vision and precision, with a skip pass which sent Greg Worthington over. Despite the failed conversion from Briggs this was the first time Featherstone had taken the lead and with just over quarter of an hour remaining, they appeared to be in control.

Featherstone's victory appeared more certain, as they continued to apply pressure, with Matty Dale's break downfield and Kain's kick for sharp being knocked behind. Doncaster however, continued to seize their opportunities, as Cooke sold a dummy and stepped inside, to score a try Rovers will be disappointed to concede and reclaim the lead, with ten minutes remaining. 20-16. Then with three minutes until the hooter Doncaster put victory out of sight as they kicked a penalty, awarded for markers not being square. 22-16. At that point the most Featherstone could hope for was a draw, which despite their valiant efforts proved unachievable.