Salford arrived in South Yorkshire for a real test against a Doncaster side that had already showed glimpses of potential in what is becoming a very tough Championship league.

As the two sides warmed up you could see the physical size difference between the two sets of players and even the most optimistic Salford supporters knew it would be a bruising eighty minutes.

The weather was fine but quite breezy as the two sides walked out slightly after 3pm for kick off. The pitch looked a little worn and patchy after the Doncaster Rovers had played a football match there the previous day against Cardiff.

The home side had Cory Aston and Connor Robinson in the halves with a very experienced pack that featured Suaia Matagi, Alex Sutcliffe and Muizz Mustapha. 

Salford started Matty Ross at fullback with loan signing Jason Windley joining Toby Hughes in the halves. Harlem Smith was another new name on the wing and Jack Gatcliffe made the bench.

Doncaster made their intentions know straight from the kick off. Power, pace and the ambition to move the ball at every opportunity made them very difficult to defend against. Robinson went over early for the first try.

Salford enjoyed a brief spell of possession but when this attack fizzled out the home side clicked through the gears in thrilling fashion. Edene Gebbie and James Glover dominated the left edge with some sensational wing/centre play. The two complimented each other so well.

Doncaster looked capable of scoring from anywhere at anytime and when Aston raced through to make it 16-0 in as many minutes the match looked over as a contest.

The home side scored eight first half tries with Gebbie completing his hat trick. 44-0.

Doncaster wasted no time in the second half with fullback Tom Holmes going over twice in the early stages before Salford got on the score board. Hard working centre Joe Hartley took a pass and went for the line. I don’t think many defenders in the sport would have stopped him. The determination and desire he showed to crash over gave the travelling Salford supporters the biggest cheer of the day so far. 

Connor Jones scored to bring the sixty point mark up for the hosts but a mistake from the kick off allowed Salford second rower Ollie Garmston the chance to pounce and he went over for his third try of the season. 

Doncaster finished the game strongly with three more tries. Aston the architect in a lot of the play. This young Salford side were completely out gunned but they kept fighting right until the final hooter. Desperately defending, a tackle in to touch brought another huge roar from the travelling supporters. It would have been the easy option to put the cue on the rack at this point but they didn’t.

The Championship certainly does seem like two leagues in one in 2026. The gulf in quality between some teams is as vast as ever. For Salford though it’s a big job on their hands. If you knock a house down and then have to rebuild it brick by brick with very limited resources it will take time. That is the task the club now faces. A trip to Workington awaits next Sunday with a 3pm kick off.

Doncaster 78 Salford 8.

Paul Whiteside.

Big thanks to Steve McCormick for the photos.