REPORT | Hunslet 10 Dons 38

The Dons roared to their first win of 2025 with an emphatic victory over Hunslet at the South Leeds Stadium.

Richard Horne’s men dominated the first half to find five tries before the break, with Pauli Pauli, Bureta Faraimo and Watson Boas all finding the line before Reece Lyne secured a quick-fire brace.

The hosts marked the scoresheet twice in the second half, but further tries from Alex Sutcliffe and Brad Hey ensured the Dons took the points.

Horne made five changes to the side that started against Sheffield Eagles a week earlier, with Luke Briscoe, Craig Hall, Boas, Pauli and Loui McConnell all introduced to the starting XIII.

The visitors almost made the perfect start when Brad Hey came within inches of the line inside two minutes, but he was held up by the Hunslet defence.

The Dons wouldn’t have to wait too much longer for the breakthrough as they opened the scoring after five minutes. Horne’s men raced forward and offloaded to Pauli, who charged over the line from 15 metres to open the scoring.

It was a brilliant opening from the visitors, and they found the line again just two minutes later. Hall found Jacob Jones, who ran three-quarters of the length of the pitch before leaving to Faraimo to cross the line uncontested. Hall added the extras.

Hunslet looked to find a response throughout the next ten minutes, but the Dons’ line defence was superb to keep the hosts out.

And they used that as a platform to kick on. Jones again found Faraimo, who broke down the left-hand side before passing back in to Boas, who held off his man to cross after 22 minutes.

The Dons were in cruise control and found the line again with the skipper leading by example. Horne’s side shifted play out to the right on the last tackle, where Lyne held off his man to find his side’s fourth try of the afternoon.

The visitors kept their foot on the gas towards the break and were soon in again. Harvey Horne was held up within five metres before Lyne picked up again and powered towards the corner to complete a rapid brace. Hall successfully converted.

Hunslet almost found a response before the break when Matty Beharrell kicked into the goal area, but Horne showed superb reactions to kick behind just before the outstretched palm of an attacker.

Briscoe found a tremendous cross-field run at the start of the second half to run within 10 metres after collecting on his own line, as Lachy Hanneghan was sent to the sin bin for illegally holding the winger.

And the Dons made their advantage count to further their lead. Sutcliffe was left free on the right and found a gap to cross uncontested. Hall added the extras again.

Horne’s side continued to push forward, but the hosts marked the scoresheet after the hour mark. Noah Booth sliced through the Dons line and ran the full length of the pitch to score. Billy Jowitt successfully converted.

The Dons weren’t fazed by the minor setback and added another two points courtesy of Hall’s penalty goal.

The visitors weren’t done with their try-scoring act and added another with six minutes to play. Faraimo palmed down a huge kick into the left corner for Hey to pick up and score the Dons’ seventh try of the day. Hall pinned another impressive kick between the sticks on the angle.

Hunslet added another consolation try through Ethan Wood on the hooter, but the Dons’ earlier damage secured their first victory of 2025.

Dons: Horne, Briscoe, Lyne, Hey, Faraimo, Hall, Boas, Knowles, Burns, Matagi, Jones, Pauli, McConnell. Interchanges: Smeaton, Sutcliffe, Bowden, Misky.