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Was this the last derby?
THE Dons crashed to a 78-8 Co-operative Championship defeat against Sheffield Eagles at Featherstone yesterday in what many people fear could prove to be the last South Yorkshire derby.
The club, who have been in administration for several weeks, are still waiting for someone to come forward with an offer to take over the reins
In the meantime the coaching staff continue to pull out all the stops in order to field a side following the departure of nine first-teamers in recent weeks.
"We know that it is going to be difficult for the rest of the season," said head coach Tony Miller after the club's biggest defeat of the season.
"We had three debutants last week and five today and it is difficult to get any cohesion when you are chopping and changing all the time.
"We've got a lot of young kids in the side and at the moment, physically, we aren't up to scratch.
"You can't knock the players' efforts but we are just lacking a bit of size.
Sheffield are a good side and I think they'll have a big say in the end-of-season play-offs. I knew that we were going to be up against it.
"We were in the game for the first 20 minutes but then they became physically dominant.
"They also had too much strike power out on the fringes; I thought both centres were outstanding.
"I don't think that Mike Coady had his best game today,, though he scored a try near the end and he will have learned something.
I spoke to him at half-time because he was getting sucked in, often leaving winger Chris McNamara with a two-on-one.
"I thought that Chris did well on his debut and I also thought that prop Alex Benson did well.
"I also thought that Scott Jones did okay when he came on for full-back Shaun Leaf.
Leaf, who has only recently returned to the side after a groin problem, was stretchered off with concussion after just six minutes.
He will miss Saturday's trip to Widnes, and Tongan Lisiate Tafa, who acquitted himself well on his professional debut, is also a doubt.
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Weather for Sheffield
Friday 10 February 2012
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