| Doncaster RLFC | |
 |
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| Full name | Doncaster Rugby League Club ("The Dons") |
| Emblem | 'Crest' |
| Colours | Blue and Gold |
| Founded | 1951 |
| Sport | Rugby League |
| League | National League Two |
| Ground | Keepmoat Stadium |
| Official website | www.doncasterrlfc.com |
Doncaster RLFC are a British rugby league club, from Doncaster. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January History See also History of rugby league The grass roots of rugby league can be traced to early football history, through the playing of ball games Media Some games are shown on Sky Sports, games involving Celtic Crusaders are shown on Welsh-language channel S4C. Keepmoat Stadium is a multi-use Stadium in Doncaster, England. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located History See also History of rugby league The grass roots of rugby league can be traced to early football history, through the playing of ball games Doncaster is a large town in South Yorkshire, England and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. They currently play in League Two of the Rugby League National Leagues. Media Some games are shown on Sky Sports, games involving Celtic Crusaders are shown on Welsh-language channel S4C.
They have previously been known as Doncaster Dragons and Doncaster Lakers. They were also previously informally known as The Dons but it is now their official nickname.
Contents |
History
Doncaster
Professional rugby league first began in Doncaster during the build up to the 1951/52 season. The club originally nicknamed 'The Dons' played at the Doncaster Greyhound Stadium, York Road before moving to the new Bentley Road Stadium in August 1953. This ground became the spiritual home of Doncaster Rugby League and was later renamed Tatters Field or Tattersfield as a mark of respect for the former Chairman Len Tattersfield.
Doncaster played their first game on Saturday 18th August 1951. Doncaster began on a winning note, defeating Wakefield Trinity 10-3 at the Greyhound Stadium in front of a crowd of 7,600. Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional Rugby league club that plays in the National Leagues. Doncaster finished their inaugural season in eleventh position, they won 21, drew one and lost 14 league matches.
From 1956-1961, Doncaster finished every season as the bottom side in the Rugby League, and remained consistently in the bottom three between 1963 and 1968. The seventies and early eighties proved to be no easier, with Doncaster only avoiding a bottom three finish on two occasions between 1970 and 1985.
Bill Kenny was coach of the Dons between June 1980-May 1981.
On Sunday 1st September 1991, Third Division rugby was introduced into British rugby league. Doncaster entertained Nottingham City that day with the home side winning by a club record 88-6.
Doncaster won eight consecutive games, but in the penultimate game of the 1994 season they fell to a surprise 20-2 away defeat to mid-table Rochdale Hornets as Workington Town beat Keighley Cougars to take top spot. Doncaster won 10-5 in their final game away at Batley’s Mount Pleasant and the club won promotion to the Premier Division for the first time in 1993-94.
In 1994-95 Tattersfield was the venue for a game against Widnes, broadcast live on Sky Television, which Doncaster won by 21 points to 6. Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England with an urban area population of 57663 in At that time, "The Dons" were at the top of Division 1.
At the end of their one and only season in the top flight the club went into liquidation and the curtain closed on the Tattersfield era when the stadium was sold for housing developments. The Dons played their last game at Tattersfield on 23rd April 1995.
When a Rupert Murdoch funded Super League competition was proposed, part of the deal was that some traditional clubs would merge. Doncaster was to merge with Sheffield to form a South Yorkshire club that would compete in Super League. This was unpopular with the fans and was resisted.
Doncaster Dragons
The following a year, a new club called Doncaster Dragons raised from the ashes of the previous club, but was forced to restart life in the bottom division of the Rugby Football League. With Tattersfield gone they temporarily shared Belle Vue Stadium with soccer club Doncaster Rovers while
Meadow Court Stadium (another greyhound stadium in Stainforth, Doncaster) was being prepared for rugby league. Doncaster Rovers Football Club (or informally Donny) are an English football club based at the Keepmoat Stadium in the town of Doncaster The Dragons played at Meadow Court Stadium for a few years before returning to Belle Vue permanently for the beginning of the 1998 season. Belle Vue is a locality within Doncaster. It was the location of the home ground of Doncaster Rovers F
In 1999, St John Ellis was appointed head coach of Doncaster, he was too late to prevent them finishing 18th and last in the Premiership, making them the lowest-ranked club in the professional game. The following year, helped by some ambitious recruitment, they were third. One of Doncaster's achievements under Ellis was to become notoriously difficult to beat at home, with the Belle Vue ground unofficially re-named 'The House of Pain'. John Wright rescued Doncaster from liquidation in 2001 and oversaw the steady growth of the club, while St John remained coach.
Doncaster Lakers
At the end of the 2005 season Dragons was dropped and Doncaster Rugby League adopted the name Lakers to reflect the new Lakeside Community Stadium' (now The Keepmoat Stadium), which would soon be their new home. The stadium, a purpose built community facility, would house both Lakers and Doncaster Rovers Football Club as well as women’s football team Doncaster Belles. Tony Miller was appointed head coach for the 2006 season following the untimely death on New Year's Eve 2005, of St John Ellis. Singe, as he was known familiarly by fans, was rugby league's longest serving coach at the time.
Loyal Doncaster fans began to oppose the re-branding to Lakers, especially when the club's trademark colours, blue and gold, were replaced with red white and black.
The club parted company with Tony Miller in July 2006 and former Great Britain International Alan Hunte of Salford City Reds agreed to help the club in a short-term coaching role. The sacking of Miller later led to him receiving £8,000 when he took the club to court. Australian Kieran Dempsey, formerly of Parramatta Eels, was appointed Head Coach on a two-year contract in August 2006 and Phil Windley was appointed as his assistant.
Ellery Hanley was appointed Head Coach in December 2007. Ellery Hanley MBE (born 27 March 1961 in Leeds) is an English former Rugby league player and is now the head coach [1]
2007 Season
The 2007 season kicked off early for the Lakers, when they played host to a pre-season warm up against Sheffield Eagles on 27 December 2006. Events 537 - The Hagia Sophia is completed 1512 - The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. This was no ordinary game, as it marked the opening of The Keepmoat Stadium. The stadium previously known as The Lakeside Community Stadium which houses Doncaster Lakers RLFC, Doncaster Rovers FC and Doncaster Belles (Women's) FC, boasts seats for 16,000 supporters with room for expansion in the future and contains brand new training facilities. Lakers, back in blue and gold, lost 16–10 in front of 5,400 spectators, the club's biggest crowd in a decade. Lakers travelled to the Jungle in their next match, to face Castleford, in a pre-season testimonial for St. John Ellis. 3,000 supporters turned out to pay their respects to Ellis, who had both played for Castleford and coached Doncaster. All proceeds from the game went to the St John Ellis Memorial Fund, to help support his family. The Lakers came bottom of their Northern Rail Cup group containing Castleford, Sheffield Eagles and Featherstone Rovers, with 7 points. Castleford is one of the five towns within the Metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. Sheffield Eagles RLFC are a English Rugby league team based in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield. Featherstone Rovers are a professional Rugby league club based in Featherstone (near Pontefract) West Yorkshire in England. Only gaining one win over Sheffield away (18–20), a draw against Featherstone at home (18–18), and bonus points in their losses against Featherstone away (24–22) and Sheffield at home (12–20). On 1 April 2007, Head Coach Keiran Dempsey and Assistant Coach Phil Windley were suspended pending an internal investigation and Gary Wilkinson was temporary placed in charge of the team. Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Gary Wilkinson is an English Rugby league coach who was recently head coach of the Sheffield Eagles and is currently in temporary charge of the Doncaster Lakers The following Friday (6 April 2007) saw the Lakers kick start the 2007 league campaign beating Sheffield Eagles 24–20 away from home. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
Six and a half thousand people attended the club's first game on live TV for over 10 years, on Thursday 12 April at the Keepmoat Stadium. Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. The game shown live on Sky Sports saw Doncaster pummelled 66–4 against promotion favourites Castleford. Castleford is one of the five towns within the Metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. Three days later the Lakers suffered another defeat at home against Leigh (52–18). During the two weeks Lakers had to prepare for their next league game away at newly promoted Dewsbury. It was announced by chairman John Wright that the club was having financial difficulties and would have to apply to go into a CVA (Company Voluntary Agreement). The players rallied around and beat Dewsbury 26–33 with an inspirational second half display, which saw Graham Holroyd (returning from injury) lead his team back from trailing 26–10 at half-time. Dewsbury is a Market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England.
The Lakers then went on to defeat joint top of the table Whitehaven 26–16. For the neighbourhood in Memphis Tennessee see Whitehaven Memphis. The match, which was promoted as possibly the last ever game of professional rugby league in Doncaster, attracted only 831 supporters, despite pleas from John Wright for the people of Doncaster to help save the club. On Saturday 12 May Chairman John Wright announced he was to resign from the club. Events 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. Lakers only just managed to put together a team against Rochdale Hornets away at Spotland on 20 May, after several players including Graham Holroyd and Danny Mills left the club. Rochdale Hornets is an English Rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Events 325 - The First Council of Nicaea &ndash the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church is held The team went on to lose 58–12 to the sound of the chant, 'We're proud of you' from the travelling fans. A few hours after the match, Coach Gary Wilkinson resigned. Gary Wilkinson is an English Rugby league coach who was recently head coach of the Sheffield Eagles and is currently in temporary charge of the Doncaster Lakers The following Tuesday (22 May), local lad and crowd favourite Peter Green was announced as Caretaker Coach. Events 334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. On Sunday 3 June, Lakers lost at home to Batley 48–14 and on the following Sunday 10 June at home, they suffered a massive 90–4 defeat at the hands of Widnes. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman Emperor, entering Batley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Events 1190 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Sally River while leading an army to Jerusalem Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England with an urban area population of 57663 in This match appeared to be the last ever match Doncaster Lakers would play, when Chairman John Wright decided he would put the club in liquidation come Wednesday 13 June if no buyers came forward. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for The crowd of over 1,200 including a great Widnes following and the Doncaster diehards applauded the loyal Doncaster players upon the final whistle in what was a spectacular rugby league moment.
When Wednesday 13th finally came, it was announced that Doncaster-born businessmen Shane Miller and Craig Harrison had struck a deal with the RFL to set up a new club which would take over from the old one within National League 1. It was thought the club John Wright still had control over would fold. [2]. On Tuesday 19 June, Doncaster announced former St. Events 1179 - The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros. Helens and Widnes forward John Stankevitch as new Head Coach, taking over from Caretaker Coach Peter Green. Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England with an urban area population of 57663 in Stankevitch had left his post as the Chemics' Senior Academy Coach to take the position. On 28 June it was announced that the new owners had decided to ditch the Lakers moniker and revert back to Doncaster RLFC nicknamed, ‘The Dons'. Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Subsequently a new logo designed by a local student was revealed. This logo featured two lions from the Doncaster town crest holding a rugby ball which had mortarboard on top of it to symbolise ‘The Dons’. [3]. The Dons lost 20–32 against Sheffield Eagles on 1 July, in front of a crowd of 1,030. Sheffield Eagles RLFC are a English Rugby league team based in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. At The Jungle on 8 July, Doncaster lost 66–4 against Castleford. Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000 On 22 July at the Keepmoat Stadium 'The Dons' lost 30–44 at the hands of Halifax. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Halifax RLFC is one of the most historic Rugby league clubs in the game formed over a century ago in 1873 in the Yorkshire town of Halifax. Former player Graham Holroyd denied Doncaster a bonus point by converting a Halifax try on the final hooter. The following Sunday, 29 July, the travelling Dons put up a gutsy performance, losing 40–18 against league leaders Widnes at the Halton Stadium. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England with an urban area population of 57663 in The Dons got their first win under the new regime and kept hopes of staying in National League One alive on 5 August beating Rochdale Hornets 34–30 at home. Events 642 - Battle of Maserfield - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia. Rochdale Hornets is an English Rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. These hopes were later shattered though the following Sunday, 12 August when they lost 26–12 against Batley at Mount Pleasant, after leading 12–6 at half time. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid Batley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. This meant that the only likely outcome would be the Dons playing National League 2 rugby next season. The Dons lost 34–14 against Leigh at Hilton Park on 19 August. Events 43 BC - Octavian, later known as Augustus compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. In the last home game of the 2007 season, 'The Dons' put on a brilliant performance to beat Dewsbury 51–18. Dewsbury is a Market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. For the final game of the season 'the Dons' travelled to The Shay to face Halifax. Former 'Don' Graham Holroyd ran the game for Halifax, leading them to a 52–24 victory, this result meant that Doncaster had finished bottom of the 2007 League table.
As the fans clapped the 'Dons' off for the final time this season, they put this terrible campaign behind them, simply happy they would have a team to support the following year.
2008 Season
During the run up to the 2008 season, on the 29th November 2007 it was announced on the official Doncaster RLFC website that Head Coach John Stankevitch had resigned, due to "personal reasons". John Stankevitch born 6 November, 1979 in Whiston, England is a former Rugby league player On the 14th December 2007, rugby league legend Ellery Hanley was unveiled as Stankevitch's replacement. Ellery Hanley MBE (born 27 March 1961 in Leeds) is an English former Rugby league player and is now the head coach The Dons were drawn into Northern Rail Cup Group 3 alongside London Skolars, Celtic Crusaders and South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Eagles. Structure The National League cup was first held in 2002 as was part of the redevelopment of the Northern Ford Premiership competition - 18 teams took part London Skolars are a Rugby league team based at the New River Stadium, Wood Green, Haringey in north London. The Celtic Crusaders are a Rugby league club based in Bridgend, Wales, United Kingdom. Sheffield Eagles RLFC are a English Rugby league team based in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield. The Dons qualified for the knock out phase still with a game in hand by beating London at home and away as well as taking bonus points off Sheffield and Celtic, who both play in a higher division. The last game of the group however saw an unprecedented event from the Rugby Football League. History See also History of rugby league On 27 August 1895 as a result of an emergency meeting in Manchester prominent Lancashire clubs Broughton Rangers Having travelled to Bridgend to take on the Crusaders the game was called off near to the kick-off due to a severely water-logged pitch. The RFL ruled that as the result of this game was immaterial to every side in the competitions’ qualifying ambitions the match would not need to be rescheduled. The Dons started the 2008 league campaign with a bang, winning three from three with 56 - 0, 54 - 12 and 36 - 18 wins. This saw them go top of the league at the end of March, a month in which Stand Off Kyle Briggs also won the National League Two Player of the Month.
2008 Squad
| Number | Nat | Player | Age | Position | Former Club | Contracted till | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Zebastian Luisi | Full Back | Harlequins RL | |||
| 2 |  |
Wayne Riettie | Wing | Leeds Rhinos | |||
| 3 |  |
Andreas Bauer | Centre | Hull KR | |||
| 4 |  |
Chris McKenna | Centre | Bradford Bulls | |||
| 5 | |
Dean Colton | Winger | Featherstone Rovers | |||
| 6 | |
Paul Crooks | Stand Off | Widnes Vikings | |||
| 7 | |
Luke Gale | Half Back | Leeds Rhinos | |||
| 8 | |
Alex Benson | Prop | Hull FC | |||
| 9 | |
Chris Buttery | Hooker | Leeds Rhinos | |||
| 10 | |
Craig Lawton | Prop | Doncaster RLFC | |||
| 11 | |
Peter Green(c) | Second Row | Doncaster RLFC | |||
| 12 | |
Mark Castle | Second Row | Castleford Tigers | |||
| 13 | |
Corey Lawrie | Loose Forward | New Zealand Warriors | |||
| 14 | |
Shawn Leaf | Utility | Hull FC | |||
| 15 | |
Jason Hart | Prop | Leeds Rhinos | |||
| 16 | |
Chris Lythe | Second Row | Hull FC | |||
| 17 | |
Ayden Faal | Prop | Leeds Rhinos | |||
| 18 | |
Kyle Briggs | Half Back | Leeds Rhinos | |||
| 19 | |
Craig Holt | Second Row | Bradford Bulls | |||
| 20 | |
Craig Potter | Prop | Castleford Tigers | |||
| 21 | |
Joe Brown | Winger | London Broncos | |||
| 22 | |
Andy Speake | Halfback | Featherstone Rovers | |||
| 23 | |
Tom Burton | Centre | Leeds Rhinos | |||
| 24 | |
Michael Haley | Prop | Leeds Rhinos | |||
| 25 | |
Scott Jones | Centre | Hull FC | |||
| 26 | |
Wayne Green | Full Back | Wigan Warriors | |||
| 27 | |
Scott Smith | Hooker | Doncaster RLFC | |||
| 28 | |
Kyle Wood | Half Back | Wakefield Wildcats | |||
| 29 | |
Sam Reay | Full Back | Wigan Warriors | |||
| 30 |  |
Lionel Teixido | Hooker | RC Albi | |||
| 31 | |
Jean-Christophe Borlin | Prop | St Gaudens |
External links
- Official site
- Doncaster forum on rlfans.com
- Website of the Doncaster Fanzine Who The Hell Was St.George Anyway?
- National League website
- Doncaster RLFC Fans Forums - RugbyLeague.org
- Doncaster RLFC site on Myspace
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