FEATHERSTONE Rovers dug deep to clinch two hard-earned Betfred Championship points in the Eco-Power Stadium at the end of a battle royal with a Doncaster side which twice looked to be beaten but refused to cave in.
Rovers led 18-12 at the interval after easing into an early 14-0 lead thanks to tries from Ryan Hampshire, who survived a head injury assessment and then suffered a suspected broken arm, and Derrell Olpherts with Ben Reynolds adding two conversions and a penalty.
But Doncaster fought their way back into the contest with two tries of their own from winger Logan Taylor-Moy and former flat-capper Craig Hall, both converted by Connor Robinson, sandwiching an unconverted try from man of the match James Glover for Rovers.
Rovers looked to have taken the game out of reach early in the second half with quick-fire tries from Will Jubb and Reynolds to go 30-12 up, but they conceded a Robinson try in the 52nd minute which kept Doncaster in with a chance until a superb try from Connor Jones looked to have killed them off again with almost 20 minutes to go.
But Doncaster, again, were nowhere near giving up and quick tries from Watson Boas and Taylor-Moy cut Rovers’ lead to just six points until Glover’s second try of the contest and a Reynolds conversion restored sanity as the clock ran down.
Rovers, in fifth place in the table with just two defeats – to Toulouse and York Knights – in their last 11 games, set out looking to claim two more precious points at the expense of sixth-placed Doncaster, beaten last time out at Bradford Bulls, to consolidate in the play-off positions.
Head coach Paul Cooke made one change to the starting 13 from last time out, bringing Nathan Wilde into his side in place of injured club captain Danny Addy and he recalled Jordan Williams to the bench after an injury lay-off stretching back to 1895 Cup Final.
Rovers set out to impose themselves on the home side early on but a break down the left edge by Gebbie in the fifth minute showed how dangerous Doncaster would be given space and time to throw the ball around.
But Rovers responded with a brilliant 13th minute solo try from the halfway line by Hampshire, who gathered a bouncing ball and broke through a gap before chipping over theadvancing but spreadeagled Doncaster defence to touch down beside the posts.
Reynolds converted with ease to give Rovers a 6-0 lead, which Olpherts extended with a try in the left corner three minutes later to finish off the visitors’ next attacking set with Reynolds slotting the touchline conversion.
With the sizeable and noisy travelling support urging them on, Rovers snuffed out the home side’s next attacking set and another clever chip and chase from Hampshire almost caught the Doncaster defence flat-footed again.
Rovers settled for a Reynolds penalty to extend their lead to 14-0 with 28 minutes gone and they protected their lead with a solid defensive set to keep Doncaster at arm’s length going into the last 10 minutes of a solid first-half display.
Doncaster, however, hit back with a try from Taylor-Moy in the right corner when the home side worked the ball wide from a 10-metre scrum and Robinson converted to cut Rovers’ lead to eight points in the 38th minute.
Rovers then scored again through Glover, who crashed over the line for his side’s third try of the match, cleverly set up by Reynolds but Reynolds’ conversion attempt came back off a post, making it an 18-6 lead.
With referee James Vella playing stoppage time, full-back Hall scuttled over for Doncaster’s second try after a break down the left from the hard-running Gebbie with Robinson adding the conversion to cut Rovers’ lead to 18-12 at the interval.
Rovers looked to lift the tempo again at the start of the second half and they took just three minutes to stretch their lead, Jubb stepping through the last line of the Doncaster defence to finish off great work from Glover and Wilde with Reynolds adding the simple conversion.
Barely two minutes later, Williams, clever offload set up Reynolds for an easy finish under the posts and a simple conversion to send Rovers 30-12 clear with the crowd barely settled back into their seats.
But Doncaster simply refused to give up and they hit back with a 52nd minute try from Robinson, which he converted to cut the deficit to 12 points until Jones brilliantly weaved his way under the posts leaving a handful of defenders in his wake making the conversion child’s play for Reynolds.
With 18 minutes to go, Rovers led 36-18 and the match looked over as a contest until never-say-die Doncaster grabbed another converted try from Boas after Olpherts coughed the ball up in the tackle 25 metres out and the ball was worked left to create the opening.
Doncaster scored again to set up what looked like being a nervy finish when Taylor-Moy zipped over in the right corner with Robinson converting to cut Rovers’ lead back to a slender six points with eight minutes to go.
But Rovers, deservedly, had the last word when Glover’s power took him over for his second try of match and Reynolds sealed a valuable win with the conversion.
TEAMS
Doncaster: Hall, Moy, Lyne, Hey, Gebbie, Boas, Robinson, Baldwinson, Burns, Matagi, Jones, Smeaton, Laidlaw.
Interchanges: Gardiner, Hepi, Pauli, Misky.
Featherstone Rovers: Aekins, Wynne, Gale, Glover, Olpherts, Hampshire, Reynolds, Vuniyayawa, Jubb, Beckett, Day, Webb, Wilde.
Interchanges: Jones, Springer, Akauola, Williams.
Referee: James Vella.