Championship Preview: Swinton Lions v Doncaster

Swinton Lions coach Ian Watson wants his side to cut out the errors when they host Doncaster in Sunday’s Kingstone Press Championship fixture.

The Lions lost 33-18 against Batley Bulldogs last week, but Watson is keen not to make the same mistakes this week.

He said: “We’ve a lot of guys who are still learning the game, and it showed at times (against Batley).”

Swinton are without Liam Hulme, Anthony Bowman, Jack Cooper and Danny Halliwell, and their task is not made any easier by Doncaster coach Paul Cooke having a fully fit squad.

Doncaster were comfortable 40-10 winners over Rochdale Hornets last week, and Cooke rewarded that performance by giving his players Tuesday night off in a bid to keep them fresh.

Cooke said: “We’re steadily building. Nothing’s won in April or May, and while we’re happy with where we’re at, we want to keep taking steps forward as the year goes on.”

On Swinton, Cooke added: “They’re a dangerous outfit at home, and we’ll need the same attitude as last week.

“If we don’t have the right attitude then we’ll get stung, because they’ve got some very good players. Guys like Ian Watson, Gareth O’Brien, Glenn Riley and the Hawkyard brothers – they know what they’re doing and we’ll have it all on come Sunday afternoon.”