SamLee wrote: Tue Nov 03, 2026 12:12 pm
Doncaster seem a baffling club. One minute going hybrid to save money then bringing in Dean Richards, Alan Dickens and Geech and now blowing hot and very cold although it is early days. Are there signs that the high profile coaches are beginning to have an influence at the club?
Geech has been at Knights for several seasons now, to be honest I don’t know how much of a difference he makes.
We have been off the pace for a few seasons now, which I feel is down to having multiple coaches the last few seasons. The last two seasons have seen coaches move on to prem sides. Can’t blame them for that, I would just like some stability
And of course stability needs good foundations so if Richards is concentrating on that it might take a while for the benefits to show as far as results are concerned.
cuppatea wrote: Mon Nov 02, 2026 11:13 pm
On the contrary, Rothman2. I think for Pirates to go away to Rotherham and come away with a five-point win is a statement performance. Rotherham have had a great start to the season and must have had some confidence going into the game. Cov were just on another level that day and Pirates were well off it.
Yes, Pirates are a pro team (as far as I know) but it’s a small squad. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was one of the smaller squads in the league. You’re right that they lack strength in depth, as just a couple of injuries in key areas can make a big difference.
Personally I was expecting Pirates to lose at Rotherham at the weekend by three or four points.
To be fair you were on another level on Sunday at Roth. Your coach nullified our threats in the main part and you threatened our line out all game. If you are continually losing field position as you know it becomes very difficult. I was very impressed with Pirates who seemed to have a number of key players back. I don’t know, maybe the fact that it was on TV, maybe we were carrying some injuries, maybe maybe, BUT we definitely missed that “Je ne sais quoi” that has been evident in most of our games before this one.
However to say we had an off day would detract from the fine performance you gave on the day. You executed your game plan, nullified our threats and were worthy winners on the day. No doubt about that.
I personally am honoured that you consider us a major scalp and you were the first club to win at the Lane for more than 2 years, but we are not naive enough to think that we can turn all sides over at the Lane at this level too, as the opposition thus far is on another level to that we encountered in the National Leagues.
My original comments stemmed from initial disappointment but it is an honour to be back playing at the same level as yourselves, Worcester Bedford Cov and Ealing, the latter of course we are yet to meet this season.
I’m not sure that cuppatea is one of our supporters, given the comment that Pirates are pro “as far as I know”.
Re returns from injuries, our outside centre and two replacement backs were welcome back but that’s it. I don’t know what psychology our coaches used after the debacle at Bedford but it clearly worked, maybe the fact that our forwards coach Alan Paver hails from Rotherham might have been used a bit.
I’m a Pirates supporter, I was only 95% sure regarding the pro status!
