REPORT | Dons 30 Featherstone Rovers 42

Five tries weren't enough for the Dons as they lost out to fellow Betfred Championship play-off hopefuls Featherstone Rovers at the Eco-Power Stadium.

Logan-Taylor Moy and Craig Hall marked the scoresheet in the first half, but a strong opening from the visitors saw the hosts behind by six points at the interval.

Further tries from Connor Robinson and Pauli Pauli, as well as a brace-completing effort from Moy, made things interesting in the second half, but Rovers held out to take the two points.
Horne made four changes to the side that narrowly lost out to Bradford Bulls nine days earlier, with Reece Lyne, Brad Hey, Edene Gebbie and Matthew Laidlaw all returning to the starting XIII.
The visitors looked to open the scoring immediately in DN4 and kicked towards the left-hand corner on the last tackle of the first set, but the ball veered out of play.
Gebbie made his side good yards on a charge up the other end and won his side a penalty to give them a shot at taking the lead, only for the hosts to be stopped on a number of occasions within five metres of the line.
The Dons looked the more likely to score throughout the opening ten minutes, but Featherstone found the breakthrough on 14 minutes as Ryan Hampshire found a gap in the middle, kicked over the last man and chased it down to ground. Ben Reynolds added the extras.
The away side furthered their lead four minutes later when a huge kick over to the left bounced favourably for Derrell Olpherts to score on the last. Reynolds converted again.
Rovers looked to be running away with the first half as Reynolds added another two points for a 14-0 lead via a penalty goal on 27 minutes.
The Dons came into the fixture towards the break and marked the scoresheet on 38 minutes. The hosts went right from a scrum and found Taylor-Moy, who weaved his way to the line on the wing. Connor Robinson added the extras.
Featherstone responded immediately from a scrum of their own, going left to find James Glover, who raced over for a 12-point lead.
The hosts had the last say of the half, though, and reduced the deficit to six points when Gebbie kept play alive on the wing, threw back inside and left Hall to race away and ground to mark 250 senior career tries. Robinson converted.
The Dons had given themselves a fighting chance going into the second half, but Featherstone were the next to hit as Williams Jubb went over to the left of the posts on 46 minutes. Reynolds again converted.
Matters got worse for the hosts three minutes later as an unfortunate bounce fell favourably for Reynolds, who crossed before converting his own try for an 18-point lead.
Horne's men struck back after 54 minutes as Hall kicked through the middle and left Robinson to chase down and ground by the posts. The scrum-half then converted his own try.
The Dons came agonisingly close to reducing the arrears again five minutes later through Gebbie and then Isaac Misky, but both were stopped agonisingly short of the Featherstone line.
And the hosts were made to pay for that missed opportunity on 62 minutes. Play opened up for Fev interchange Connor Jones to run through the middle and ground underneath the sticks. Reynolds added the extras again.
But the Dons came again seven minutes later as Pauli picked up on the left and charged clear to make the line. Robinson successfully converted to bring the Dons within 12 again.
And three minutes later the comeback was on. Superb link-up play between Hall, Gebbie, Robinson and Moy saw the latter sprint for the corner on the right and squeeze in on the wing for his brace. Robinson nailed the kick from the touchline, and Horne's men were within six.
But an error at the other end saw Featherstone play through a set and kick into the goal area, where Glover scored. Reynolds successfully kicked again to complete the scoring with a 30-42 scoreline.
Dons: Hall, Moy, Lyne, Hey, Gebbie, Boas, Robinson, Baldwinson, Burns, Matagi, Jones, Smeaton, Laidlaw. Interchanges: Pauli, Misky, Hepi, Gardiner.