Video: Doncaster Knights' Michael Hills wipes slate clean to plan '˜horrible' reception for Carnegie

The South Yorkshire club, of course, actually take a healthy 13-point advantage into Sunday’s Championship decider at Castle Park after an impressive 30-17 win at Headingley on Sunday.

However, Hills realises the importance of tackling the reverse fixture simply as a one-off contest in order to secure their place in the final and, remarkably, stand just one step away from the Premiership.

At Carnegie, and in their first Championship play-off experience, Doncaster were 27-3 ahead at one point before their derby rivals dragged themselves back into the tie.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, openside flanker Hills admitted: “The main focus for us now – after such a consistent season – is just to look forward to this home game and play well.

“If we perform, we know we will be there or thereabouts. We won’t look any further ahead than that.

“Yorkshire showed at the end on Sunday that if you give them a sniff they are a very good ball-handling team and have powerful runners. We can’t lie down now. We have to be even better next week in front of our home crowd.

“We must make it horrible for Yorkshire and finish this semi-final.

“Obviously, we have to go into it thinking that 13 points isn’t there. We have to have that mentality as two quick tries and it’s all on again. We’re in the lead and, beforehand, we’d have taken that (13 points) 100 per cent as it’s a big challenge going to Headingley – Leeds are a quality outfit.

“But we know it’s not by as much as it could have been.”

It says plenty about the progress Doncaster have made over a stunning 18 months that they are able to be so self-critical.

At the end of 2014, they were dicing with a second relegation to National One in two years, but recovered and, this time around, have been the story of the season, having secured second place, their highest finish in the league pyramid.

Hills, who hails from Doncaster but made his name with Sale Sharks and London Welsh before returning in 2013, concedes experienced director of rugby Clive Griffiths has been a catalyst.

“Clive is very good at getting a good team together and then keeping the team spirit,” he said.

“We have been a close team since I was there in National One. We’ve kept the core of that squad and added to it very cleverly.

“The coach has done a great job in that. We’ve just tried to be a real solid unit all season. We’ve kept a core that has played with each other a lot of the time, we know how each other plays, we train very hard and I think that’s where the success comes. We look forward to next Sunday.”

No-one wants to mention it but promotion to the elite is possible.

Clearly, Bristol, who finished top and seem certain to reach the final given they hold a 29-point first leg advantage over Bedford Blues, will prove significant opposition for Doncaster should they get there.

That said, the Knights won at Bristol earlier in the campaign and only lost out to them with the final play of the game at Castle Park.

Hills, who played twice for Sale in the season they won the 
2005-06 Premiership title and also earned promotion with Welsh in 2012, said: “It would mean everything (to go up).

“I’m a local boy myself. I started at Doncaster when I was six years old. I’ve been to a few clubs and came back with the aim to try and be in a successful Doncaster team.

“At the moment, it seems to be going well. More than anything else, it would mean everything to the boys. The fans have been brilliant since I got here, it’s a very, very good family club.

“People come down to Doncaster and say they love it, they can speak to the lads, they are respected well as fans and the players are very close-knit, too.

“It would just mean a lot to the club and the players.

“We have been consistent enough and, playing like we did on Sunday, we have every chance next week to get into the final.”

As always, Hills was at his involved best against Carnegie, scrapping for everything on the floor, making countless tackles and playing his part in a dominant pack display.

Doncaster’s front-row of Richard List, Ben Hunter and Colin Quigley, however, was arguably the key to their victory.

Hills, 30, said: “The front-row always works hard here. We have some experienced lads in there and they were on fire.

“You just never know how it is going to go at the scrum – there are a lot of variables – but the boys dug in and when we needed it they were there for us.”