Batley avoid drop as Dons finish in fourth

It was a disappointing end to the league campaign for Doncaster who began the day battling for second spot only to finish fourth.

Captain Ben Black led by example at stand-off and put his side on the path to victory with a huge kick in the second minute which led to a Wayne Rettie try.

Rettie crossed again only to have the effort disallowed for a forward pass but Alex Brown profited when the match officials missed a similar offence before he touched down.

Doncaster struggled to get their act together even after winger Tom Hodson had narrowed the gap with a fine try in the corner following good work by Lee Waterman.

It came as no surprise when Ayden Faal dived over to give Batley an 18-6 half-time lead.

Waterman raised the home side’s hopes with a try but they were dashed when Batley romped to victory with three more touchdowns.

Antony Nicholson scored in opportunist style, before Rettie rounded off a neat passing move to go over in the corner and Alex Bretherton set the seal on a great victory for the visitors.

It was a fine performance by Batley while Doncaster were left to console themselves with the fact that they have still had an excellent campaign in Paul Cooke’s first season in charge.

Doncaster: Scott, Hodson, Leaf, Cunningham, Sanderson, Cooke, Wilkinson, Carbutt, Spavern, Robinson, Snitch, Colbon, Emmett. Substitutes: Castle, Waterman, Kelly, Spiers.

Batley: Greenwood, Rettie, Heaton, Faal, Brown, Black, Leatherbarrow, Johnson, Nicholson, Applegarth, Bretherton, Scott, Blake. Substitutes: Rowe, Davies, Chandler, Gledhill.

Referee: D Merrick (RFL).