Keighley 28 - 4 up at HT in North Wales. 56 - 12 at FT Keighley make their intentions clear, bubble burst and a half for NWC.

Crikey, that's some scoreline! Andrew Henderson and Rhys Lovegrove seem to have put a plan together and know how to execute it.

London beat Cornwall 24-20. Aaron Bishop Jones signed for Cornwall this week. He got their first try on the wing before switching to play hooker.

London had three yellow cards and were losing by 2 points when they went down to 11 men. Cornwall's defence couldn't hold out towards the end as the bulky London pack won them the game.

Dons 0 Crusaders 46
Crusaders 12 Keighley 56
Conclusion?
We are shoite!!!

Weekend Results:
Oldham 8, Swinton 16; Dons 36, Hunslet 6; Midlands 56, W Wales 12; Cornwall 20, Skolars 24; N Wales 12, Keighley 56.

Oldham have dropped below Midlands after losing to Swinton. We've put some daylight between us and sixth place Hunslet.

Keighley asserted their authority at the top over N Wales.

None of the top four have lost to a team outside the top four.

The grid is quite interesting. As well as showing league positions, it shows who has got tricky away games to come...

Ah, that's us!

Next week's fixtures: W Wales v Skolars; Cornwall v Keighley; Hunslet v N Wales; Oldham v Midlands; Swinton v Rochdale.

We've got the weekend off.

If Midlands beat Oldham, things won't look good for Oldham as their top six chances will be diminishing.

Hunslet shouldn't beat N Wales unless their Keighley defeat has knocked the stuffing out of them.

One of the top four has got to drop points in the Swinton v Rochdale clash.

The Dons will still be fifth regardless of next weekend's results.

Click on the image to enlarge.

We've reached the halfway stage of the season with all teams having played 10 matches.

Weekend Results: Hunslet were trailing 16-12 to N Wales before coming back to win 30-22. This is the first time a team in the top four has been beaten by a side outside the top four. Well done to Hunslet after their poor showing against us last week. Does this indicate N Wales' bubble has burst? We're playing them next week. Perhaps a good time to be taking them on?

Cornwall 12, Keighley 56; West Wales 16, London 38; Hunslet 30, N Wales 22; Oldham 66, Midlands 0; Swinton 34, Rochdale 14.

Swinton are now in second place behind Keighley. Oldham's big win against Midlands was a surprise. Oldham have overtaken Midlands in seventh spot.

Our next two games are critical ones: away at N Wales and away at Swinton. If we lose both, it is likely Hunslet will overtake us and we'll drop down to sixth. If we win both, we could be staking claims for a top four finish.

Next weekend's Saturday games: Hunslet v Rochdale; London v Swinton; W Wales v Cornwall.
Sunday matches: N Wales v Dons and Keighley v Oldham.

The following weekend: Cornwall v Hunslet; N Wales v London; Keighley v W Wales; Midlands v Rochdale and Swinton v Dons.

What's everyone's best guess as to where we'll finish knowing what we know now?

Thanks for the update DM. I thought we had another blank weekend next weekend. According to our fixture list we play NWC the weekend after next and Swinton on 3rd July. https://www.doncasterrugbyleague.co.uk/match-centre Blank page but click on Matches. I still think fifth place but its pure guess work. If has RH says he gets a few players back for the tricky away games, who knows

Thanks for the update DM. I thought we had another blank weekend next weekend. According to our fixture list we play NWC the weekend after next and Swinton on 3rd July. https://www.doncasterrugbyleague.co.uk/match-centre Blank page but click on Matches. I still think fifth place but its pure guess work. If has RH says he gets a few players back for the tricky away games, who knows

Quote Wilf Grimshaw="Wilf Grimshaw"Thanks for the update DM. I thought we had another blank weekend next weekend. According to our fixture list we play NWC the weekend after next and Swinton on 3rd July. https://www.doncasterrugbyleague.co.uk/match-centre Blank page but click on Matches. I still think fifth place but its pure guess work. If has RH says he gets a few players back for the tricky away games, who knows '" Oops, yes there are no fixtures next weekend. Thanks Wilf. The first games I listed are due to be played on 25th and 26th June. The ones after are the 2nd and 3rd July. I hadn't realised there was a blank weekend for everyone next weekend. The league still looks tight and I'm not sure we can take it for granted we'll finish above Hunslet. I'm also not sure we're good enough to make inroads into the top four but they might lose their way and we might do something to improve.

Quote Wilf Grimshaw="Wilf Grimshaw"Thanks for the update DM. I thought we had another blank weekend next weekend. According to our fixture list we play NWC the weekend after next and Swinton on 3rd July. https://www.doncasterrugbyleague.co.uk/match-centre Blank page but click on Matches. I still think fifth place but its pure guess work. If has RH says he gets a few players back for the tricky away games, who knows '" Oops, yes there are no fixtures next weekend. Thanks Wilf. The first games I listed are due to be played on 25th and 26th June. The ones after are the 2nd and 3rd July. I hadn't realised there was a blank weekend for everyone next weekend. The league still looks tight and I'm not sure we can take it for granted we'll finish above Hunslet. I'm also not sure we're good enough to make inroads into the top four but they might lose their way and we might do something to improve.

Click the image to enlarge.

Weekend Results: N Wales 18, Dons 26; Hunslet 24, Rochdale 32; West Wales 4, Cornwall 24; London 22, Swinton 48; Keighley 62, Oldham 0.

The Dons stay in fifth position after emulating Hunslet and Keighley's recent wins against N Wales. With Hunslet losing at home to Rochdale we're three points clear of Hunslet whilst remaining two points behind fourth placed Rochdale and third placed N Wales.

Cornwall recorded their first ever win when beating W Wales. They played well and looked the better side throughout.

Keighley keep powering ahead and will surely have set themselves the target of remaining unbeaten throughout the season. They've only conceded 90 points in 11 games. The Dons have conceded 266.

Next fixtures: Cornwall v Hunslet; N Wales v London; Keighley v W Wales; Midlands v Rochdale; Swinton v Dons.

In theory, if Keighley get automatic promotion our competition in the play-offs would be Swinton, N Wales, Rochdale and Hunslet. Winning at Swinton would set a good marker and show we have got a realistic chance.

We could do with Midlands beating Rochdale next week. N Wales ought to stop the rot against London. It'd also be handy if Cornwall could get another win! I don't think Keighley are likely to be troubled next Sunday!

Weekend Results:

Cornwall 24, Hunslet 36. Hunslet were 12-0 down and looked very unconvincing for much of the first half.
N Wales 30, London 16. N Wales were leading 16-12 at half-time. They're clearly not in the same form as they were.
Keighley 86, W Wales 0. Keighley took another step to being crowned champions.
Midlands 34, Rochdale 42. Rochdale were 28-10 up at half-time but conceding 34 can't be pleasing for them.
Swinton 12, Dons 26. A great come back from the Dons after being 12-0 down.

Two points separate second to fifth with all to play for in the battle for second. The Dons have beaten all teams now except Keighley and Rochdale. We've got to play both at home.

I've watched most of the Cornwall games on Our League and it's been apparent from those games that all teams except Keighley look vulnerable this season.

The door is certainly open for the Dons to press on and get second place. The results grid becomes more interesting now as we can see which teams sides have got left to play. The 'toughies' for the Dons are the two home games against Keighley and Rochdale and the away game at Hunslet. If we can beat Rochdale and Hunslet and avoid any banana skins elsewhere (possibly at Midlands and Oldham), we'll have 30 points.

We need to boost our points difference or else that could come back to haunt us. We're 98 points adrift of Rochdale, 121 behind N Wales and 181 behind Swinton. Unless we beat Keighley, there's a fair chance points difference could determine our finishing position. We've got some good opportunites to give our points difference a boost with Cornwall, N Wales, and Skolars to come.

Next Weekend:

Saturday: Cornwall v Dons (free to watch on Our League - kick-off 1pm)
London v Keighley
Midlands v N Wales. We could do with the Midlands winning this.

Sunday: Hunslet v West Wales. An opportunity for Hunslet to improve their points difference.
Oldham v Rochdale. The best outcome for the Dons would be an Oldham win.

It's all getting quite interesting now...

Weekend Results:
Cornwall 10, Dons 44; Midlands 16, N Wales 46; Hunslet 54, W Wales 6; Oldham 24, Rochdale 50.

London v Keighley was called off due to no doctor being available. Presumably Keighley will be awarded a 48-0 victory, as we were in similar circumstances.

The Dons are fifth, two points behind N Wales and Rochdale and level on points with Swinton who have a game in hand.

We have seven games left: Oldham (A), W Wales (H), Rochdale (H), Midlands (A), Keighley (H), Hunslet (A), London (H).

Unless we win all our remaining games, it's hard to see how we can finish second with our inferior points difference. We really need to thump W Wales and London. Our rivals have still got games against the bottom three as well so they will no doubt build on their present points differences too.

Current points difference: N Wales +225, Rochdale +198, Swinton +255, Dons +108.

Games left:

N Wales: Hunslet (H), Rochdale (H), Swinton (H), Keighley (A), Oldham (A), Cornwall (A), W Wales (A)
Swinton: Hunslet (H), Keighley (H), Midlands (H), Oldham (H), N Wales (A), Rochdale (A), Cornwall (A), W Wales (A)
Rochdale: Cornwall (H), Keighley (H), London (H), Swinton (H), W Wales (H), N Wales (A), Dons (A)

Rochdale have got five home games and two away games to come.

Next weekend:

Saturday 16th July: W Wales v N Wales
Sunday 17th July: Keighley v Cornwall; Hunslet v London; Oldham v Dons; and Swinton v Midlands

I suspect all the favourites will win, including the Dons at Oldham. A nice result for us would be if Midlands could manage to beat Swinton.

Who do you think is favourite to finish second? Where do you think the Dons will finish?

As I'm not watching games, this is just for fun based on the results so far but I'll guess at ...

Swinton Lions ... and ...

5th

Weekend Results: W Wales 4, N Wales 76. Have N Wales got their act together again?
Keighley 68, Cornwall 0. A good job done by Keighley with Kyle Trout on debut.
Oldham 12, Dons 64. An excellent result for us.
Hunslet 43, London 16. Hunslet remain in 6th, three points behind the Dons.
Swinton 54, Midlands 22. Swinton are in third place.

Basic Table:

Keighley 13, 26 +557
N Wales 14, 22 +297
Swinton 13, 20 +287
Rochdale 13, 20, +198
Dons 14, 20, +160
Hunslet 14, 17, +115

We've no game next weekend. It looks as though Swinton (at Cornwall) and Rochdale (home to London) will restore their two point advantage over the Dons. Teams two to five will all be on 14 games played at that stage.

With six games then to be played, we've got to gain two points on our rivals and improve our points difference to finish second.

Game left: (my guess at the results are in brackets)

=#FF0000N Wales: Hunslet (H) (WIN), Rochdale (H) (LOSE), Swinton (H) (LOSE), Keighley (A) (LOSE), Oldham (A) (WIN), Cornwall (A) (WIN) Final points = 28

=#FF0000Rochdale: Cornwall (H) (WIN), Keighley (A) (LOSE), London (H) (WIN), Swinton (H) (WIN), W Wales (H) (WIN), N Wales (A) (WIN), DONS (A) (LOSE) Final Points = 30

=#BF0000Swinton: Hunslet (H) (WIN), Keighley (H) (LOSE), Oldham (H) (WIN), N Wales (A) (WIN), Rochdale (A) (LOSE), W Wales (A) (WIN), Cornwall (A) (WIN) Final Points = 30

=#FF0000Dons: Keighley (H) (LOSE), London (H) (WIN), Rochdale (H) (WIN), W Wales (H) (WIN), Hunslet (A) (WIN), Midlands (A) (WIN)
Final Points = 30

Conclusion: N Wales, Rochdale and Swinton might swap points with each other in ways not shown by my predictions but it seems as though at least one of them will get to 30 points unless they slip up agaimst the lesser teams.

We can only better 30 points if we beat Keighley at home. Beating Rochdale at home is a must or else second place will probably be beyond us. I still suspect points difference will be vital. We need to give London, W Wales and Midlands serious drubbings!

We desperately need Keighley to win their matches against N Wales, Rochdale and Swinton otherwise our task will be much more difficult.

Can we win all our games and set a target of 32 points?

Next Weekend: Cornwall v Swinton; W Wales v Oldham; N Wales v Hunslet; Midlands v Keighley; Rochdale v London.