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Weak Dons mauled by old boy Handforth
Dons..............6 Batley Bulldogs..70
DONS boss Tony Miller endured his longest 80 minutes of the season at Featherstone yesterday.
Any remote hopes that the Dons might have entertained of beating the odds and retaining their Championship status, were shattered at the Chris Moyles Stadium as third-bottom Batley Bulldogs posted a record win over the cash-strapped South Yorkshire side on the longest day of the year.
It didn't do the Dons any favours having to play a home game at the Post Office Road ground due to the Keepmoat Stadium being unavailable.
But such was the gulf in class on the day, that the likelihood is that Bulldogs would still have given the Dons a mauling.
In avenging a Northern Rail Cup qualifying group defeat at Mount Pleasant back in February, Batley highlighted just how far the Dons have fallen.
To be fair to the Dons, who are currently in administration, few sides, if any, would remain competitive at this level after losing eight first-team regulars in less than two months.
Half-back Paul Handforth was one of the first players to leave when the financial cutbacks were first announced and he showed just what a loss he has been by producing a virtuoso performance.
The stand-off, who knows his way around the Featherstone pitch having plyed his trade there last season, had a hand in the bulk of Batley's 12 tries in addition to scoring himself.
The Dons fielded two of their midweek signings from the amateur game, Steve Hall and Mark McKinley.
They also welcomed back Shaun Leaf for his first game for several months and strong-running forward Craig Lawton for his first game following a close-season shoulder operation.
Such was the shortage of backs that Lawton was asked to play in the centre.
In the circumstances, Lawton did all that could reasonably have been expected of him.
The game was held up for seven minutes while former Dons centre/second-rower Chris Buttery had treatment for what appeared to be a serious neck injury before being stretchered off.
The first chance of the game when play resumed fell to the Dons, but winger Dean Colton stepped over the line after getting on the end of skipper Josh Weedon's kick to the corner.
Playing down the slope, Batley started to dominate the game territorially with their big forwards driving in hard, and only some solid defending kept them out.
But their pressure finally paid off on 15 minutes when scrum-half Paul Mennell, who also added a conversion, put John Gallagher over from close range.
The Bulldogs added to their lead on 21 minutes when second-rower Craig Potter crashed over from close range.
Aided by a 7-2 penalty advantage, Batley continued to dominate the game and they opened up a 16-0 lead on the half-hour when winger Johnny Campbell touched down in the corner for a converted try, goaled from the touchline by Mennell, after some crisp handling in the Dons 20.
The Dons lacked any sort of cutting edge in attack and struggled to get out of their own half, let alone put pressure on the Batley line.Handforth continued to cause the Dons problems and he conjured up a try for centre Mark Barlow. Mennell tagged on the simple conversion to make it 22-0 at the break.
Batley carried on where they had left off in the first at the start of the second, and Campbell raced in at the corner for a try superbly goaled from touch by Mennell.
Batley's other winger, Jermaine McGilvray, raced 75 metres for a try after latching on to a risky pass as the Dons tried to keep the ball alive during a rare excursion in the Bulldogs 20.
Loose-forward Ashley Lindsay sent Campbell racing in for his hat-trick. Mennell again converted to make it 40-0.
Campbell again had too much pace for Wayne Opie when sprinting in for his fourth try on the hour. Mennell again tagged on the easy conversion.
Handforth brought the half-century up on 66 minute when he jinked past several defenders. Lindsay and Handforth both sent supporting full-back Ian Preece over for two converted tries in three minutes.
Garry Ellery, who lost the ball in the tackle five metres out – only to regain it after Preece had failed to gather – touched down for a 76th minute consolation try, goaled by Weedon.
But Batley had the last word – Handforth putting Gareth Greenwood over in the last minute.
The Dons' players looked totally dejected at the final whistle and badly need reinforcements. But who is going to want to come?
Dons: Leaf, Colton, Coady, Lawton, Opie, Weedon, Speake, Benson, Cook, Carbutt, Hall, Holt, Steen, Subs: McKinley, Bassinder, Craig Jones, Ellery.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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