REPORT | Dons 19 Sheffield Eagles 6

The Dons took a first South Yorkshire derby day victory in 11 years with an impressive win over Sheffield Eagles at the Eco-Power Stadium.

Buoyed by the determination to right the wrongs of the defeat against York RLFC Knights five days earlier, Richard Horne's side dominated the first half and led at the interval courtesy of tries from Edene Gebbie and Reece Lyne.

Gebbie added another try in the second half as the Dons saw out the second half in professional style.
Horne made two changes to the side that started in the loss against York, with Brad Hey and Josh Bowden returning to the starting XIII. Hull FC loanee Jack Charles took his place among the interchanges.
The visitors were the first to come close with a kick into the goal area after five minutes, but Alex Sutcliffe did brilliantly to collect and charge into safety.
The dynamic of the early stages shifted, though, when Ed Battye was sin-binned for a high hit on Gebbie on 12 minutes, as the Dons made their advantage count less than 60 seconds later.
Horne's men shifted from the centre to the left and found Gebbie, who was left free to charge back inside, hold off the Eagles defence and find the line to open the scoring.
The Dons came close again just after the quarter-of-an-hour mark as Connor Robinson's kick into the corner met Luke Briscoe, but the winger could only knock on into the goal area.
The sides were levelled up in terms of number of players on the pitch after 17 minutes, as Suaia Matagi was also shown a yellow card.
And that gave the Eagles an initial breath of life over the next five minutes, as the Dons were forced to stop the visitors just short of the line again.
But the Dons weren't fazed by that near miss and extended their advantage after 23 minutes. Horne's side utilised the wings again as they moved out to the right and found Lyne, who held off a number of Sheffield men to cross the line. Robinson added the extras.
The home side continued to push towards the break and came close on a number of occasions, but it was their line defence that was put to work just before the hooter as they twice held the Eagles cavalry up on the line.
It was a cagey affair in the first ten minutes after the restart, as both teams looked to be making good yards but also defending well.
The Eagles did eventually trouble the scoreboard for the first time of the afternoon after 54 minutes as they made the most of a repeat set on the line to see Blake Broadbent force his way to the line. Corey Aston successfully converted.
The visitors were determined to level the scores after slicing the deficit to just four points, but the Dons defended superbly to see off multiple penalties and tackles to eventually take the ball back inside their own ten.
And that defensive effort was rewarded after 69 minutes. Horne's men charged forward and again found a free Gebbie on the left, who raced into the left-hand corner to secure his brace.
The Dons were back in the driving seat and further tightened their grip on the fixture with two successful Robinson penalty kicks for a 12-point lead with a matter of minutes left to play.
With the seconds ticking down on the clock, the hosts put the result out of all reasonable doubt as Craig Hall pinned a drop-kick between the sticks from 20 metres out to secure a derby day victory 11 years in the making.
Dons: Hall, Briscoe, Lyne, Hey, Gebbie, Boas, Robinson, Bowden, Burns, Matagi, Jones, Sutcliffe, McConnell. Interchanges: Baldwinson, Hepi, Tali, Charles.