Minutes from the Dons committee meeting : Thu Nov 26, 2015 3:53 pm
Fans Panel Meeting Wednesday 25th November 2015
John Scarrow welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for attending.
Its 53 days to the first pre-season friendly and a lot has happened on the player front.
Dons Day is to be held on 4th December at 6.30pm when you can meet all the players.
Gary Thornton stated that a lot has been happening as he is focusing on the squad. Pre-season training started last Tuesday and they have had 5 sessions to date. All the players have terrific attitudes. There is competition for places and the squad is built up from youth and experience.
The excellent facilities at the Stadium, as well as the Training Ground, have helped to secure signings.
A pre-season get together was held on the 22nd October where all the players met. They have a common goal of push for promotion.
Strength and Conditioning is run by Accelerate Gym, which has a military background and has new ideas. It is early days but I am happy. Their attitude to training and each other is all positive. Programmes have been devised and we will hit the ground running.
There are 32 players training but this number includes contracted players and several trialists
The young players that have been signed from Warrington and Leeds have come from Clubs that have standards that filter down from 1st team to the Academy.
Pre Season Camp is being held on the weekend of 11/12th December when they will be completing the Whitby coastal walk, organised by Pete Bell, which will include team skills and bonding.
Season starts on 21st February 2016 with the IPro Sports Cup.
Questions:
What Friendlies have been arranged?
GT: Pre-season friendlies have been organised – Hull on 17th January, Leeds on 7th February. We have been informed that Hull will be sending a quality team and hoping to have some world-class players at the Keepmoat. Last year Leeds brought Zac Hardaker to the Keepmoat so we are hoping for more of the same for the friendly. There is a possibility of playing Oxford but this is to be confirmed and date to be agreed but it will not be a team we play early in the season.
The problem last year was a lack of fitness of the players, have you concentrated more on that this year?
Yes, sport is a science and players have to peak at the right time. Pre-season will be tough both mentally and physically.
We have new players this year and some from last year, youth and experienced players, as a whole can the team gel?
GT: The weekend away will help players bond and at training we split into different groups each session. Players are working hard. They have already got a good attitude as a team.
You have 32 players currently training are you looking to reduce this number?
GT: The ideal number would be 25/26. We have a lot of players that have asked to come and train pre-season with us so we can have a look at them.
We have announced 21 so the rest are vying for 4 or 5 places. The balance of the squad is important – something that we didn’t have last year.
I can’t see an obvious No. 13 – have you got this position covered?
GT: We have a player coming that has not been announced yet but I coached him at Wakefield. Also we have plenty of players that can play expansive rugby and not as the traditional way of a no. 13. We have got cover in all positions.
Are we continuing the relationship with Hull?
GT: Yes, it is still in place but if we have 25 players at Doncaster they will play unless we get injuries, then we can fall back on Dual Reg. We have a good relationship with Lee Radford – we have the same mind-set and they are running an Under 23’s next season, so any players not getting into the team at Doncaster can play in their Under 23’s – it’s a 2-way relationship
What’s happening to Sheffield Eagles?
CH: We don’t know anything at the moment – they have gone silent. We have set up 2 meetings but they have been cancelled by them.
If Sheffield do come back to the Keepmoat will our Kick Off time be changed?
CH: NO. 3.00pm was voted for by the supporters and that is the kick off time for next season. We are not going back on that decision.
A couple of our new players have been announced on other websites before we announce them, why is this?
CH: We won’t announce signings unless we are confident the player will be with us or until we get confirmation from the RFL that the contract has been registered.
Have there been any changes to Coaching/Backroom Staff?
GT: The only changes are to the Strength and Conditioning Team and we have a new Physio, otherwise all Backroom Staff are the same.
I will be assisted by Pete Green and Andy Vincent.
Carl Hall finished the meeting by saying that the Club is heading in a good direction – what was needed to be done, has been done. It was time for a change and we have done the right thing.
The Club is going in the right direction especially with the Academy – this is the key for success. It will be good to see local players start at the Academy and push to the first team. We have good local amateur teams from where they can follow onto the Academy.
The Sky Try initiative is progressing – this is new and something we haven’t had before. The Club is in a good place after the heartache of last season
John Scarrow closed the meeting saying we will meet again mid January after the Hull Friendly and hopes to see everyone at the Dons Day to meet the new players, new shirts will be on sale and take part in a prize draw for a prize on the team photograph – See you on the 4th December, 6.30pm in the Belle Vue Bar
