Doncaster 30 Rochdale Hornets 20: Doncaster show flair in attack to complement work on defence

It could have been even more convincing but Rochdale battled back from 20 points behind to score two late tries and earn a bonus point.

Coach Tony Miller has worked almost exclusively on defence in an attempt to make the Dons more competitive but it was their attacking flair which caught the eye at the start.

Doncaster looked like a top of the table team as they threw the ball about impressively with Hornets having to work hard to keep them out.

Winger Aaron Henry grabbed the first try after five minutes after chasing a kick from Simon Brown who tagged on the conversion.

Centre Chris Spurr made it

10-0 when he intercepted a misplaced pass in the 15th minute but Rochdale stuck to their task and hit back nine minutes later with a try from Danny Samuel.

Brown landed a penalty to make it 12-6 before Hornets were fortunate to be awarded a try on the stroke of half-time when Andy Saywell appeared to be forced into touch before diving over the line.

Doncaster were in no mood to let their advantage slip after the interval and Jack Ely went in from close range before a couple of excellent tries from Rob Lunt put the home side 20 points in front.

Craig Johnson took advantage of an injury to Doncaster

full-back Mick Butterfield when he scored in the corner after 63 minutes and a last-minute try from John Cookson earned the bonus point.

Doncaster: Butterfield, Henry, Spurr, Leaf, Colton, Brown, Fawcett, Crawley, Hughes, Carbutt, Watson, Steen, Lunt. Substitutes: (all used) Ely, Ellery, Stanley, Dobek.

Rochdale Hornets: English, Johnson, Gorton, Reid, Saywell, Crooks, Roper, Hayes, Powell, Cookson, Samuel, Smith, Ashall. Substitutes (all used): Rafferty, Bowman, Cocker, Hough.

Referee: D Merrick.