Kingstone Press Championship Preview: Doncaster v Halifax

Doncaster coach Paul Cooke expects to face a backlash from third-placed Halifax when the two sides meet on Sunday.

Halifax recently lost against Featherstone Rovers, and Cooke believes Karl Harrison’s men will be desperate to make amends.

Cooke said: “I’ve just watched that Halifax-Featherstone game, and the first 20 minutes killed Halifax. But both teams were strong, and it’s certainly a tough game for us this weekend – even more so after Halifax’s loss.”

He added: “It’s in our own hands to finish in the top four. If you’d said at the start of the season that we could be in this position with two games to go, we’d have snapped your hand off.

“But we’ve now got two big games to finish the season, at home against Halifax and Batley.

“The players have had eight days off completely, where they’ve done whatever they wanted to do.

“It was their first weekend off since February 2, and they certainly deserved the break. Now we’re all looking forward to getting stuck in again.”

Cooke has no new injury concerns, while Luke Ambler (wrist) and Callum Casey (ankle) are both expected to be available for Halifax.

And Halifax coach Karl Harrison is refusing to give up hope of a top-two finish.

Harrison said: “It’s far from over, and I still believe it will go down to the very last minute of the last game.”