Doncaster RLFC: Aizue to miss Hull FC friendly

The most high profile of the club’s 20 or so new faces, the veteran front-rower, who played a number of seasons in the top flight with Hull KR, is still recovering from a close-season hand operation.

Several other new signings are also set to miss Sunday’s opening pre-season clash against Super League outfit Hull FC at the Keepmoat Stadium (3pm).

Second-rower Mike Kelly, one of just eight players retained from last season’s squad, will also miss the game against the Black and Whites whose first scheduled warm-up game against York City Knights fell victim to the weather.

Both teams will operate with 21-man squads on the day with Dons’ boss Gary Thornton expected to give most, if not all, his fit players a run-out during the game.

“I’ll be treating it like a game in that the players who start will probably play the first 25 minutes or so barring injuries,” said Thornton.

“I’ll be looking at various combinations and will be making changes during the game but I won’t be bringing on five players at a time.

“We are certainly taking the game seriously and we’d love to win it – though we are nowhere near where we want to be going into our first competitive game against North Wales on February 21.

“That said the guys want to play and it’s an ideal opportunity to get some minutes under their belts against what is likely to be a very strong Hull team in the Super League this season.”