Report | London Broncos 66 Dons 16

The Dons bowed out of the Betfred Challenge Cup with a 66-16 defeat at Championship side London Broncos.

Richard Horne’s side gave a solid account of themselves, particularly in the opening 40, where they scored three tries to more than hold their own against the hosts.

Brad Hey, Travis Corion and Aaron Ollett-Hobson were on the scoresheet in the capital, while Luke Cooper made his debut after signing on loan from Featherstone Rovers.

The home side started the game on the front foot and went ahead five minutes in, as they made the most of a repeat set with Bill Leyland going over. 

That lead was extended when a Dons error eventually led to Oli Leyland making a darting run to touch down next to the posts. He converted for 10-0.

The Dons responded well though and six minutes later had their first try of the afternoon as captain Sam Smeaton got a pass away to Hey who went over for his first score of the season.

And they were back level with 17 minutes on the clock. Wellington Albert tried to get an offload away for the Broncos but saw it intercepted by Corion who raced 80 metres and had time to score under the sticks.

In and end-to-end first-half there was still time for both teams to grab another try each. The Broncos went in through Paul Ulberg, before Ollett-Hobson spun out of a tackle to send the Dons in at the break on level terms.

The second-half proved to be a bridge to far for Horne’s side, who saw their opponents run in 50 unanswered points at Rosslyn Park.

Leyland and Ulberg both grabbed a brace, while Dalton Grant, Iliess Macani, Emmanuel Warne and Rian Horsman also crossed.

The scoring was completed late on by Dean Parata, Ramon Silva and Albert, with the Dons running out of steam and focus turning to a return to league action against Cornwall next weekend.