The Hawks had some good moments but lacked the speed and strength to keep out the home side, who are well set for a strong challenge in the play-offs.

Hunslet could have taken an early lead when Mark Blanchard was stopped just short. The ball was played quickly but a poor pass gave Mark Cunningham no chance and the opportunity was lost. A score at that time would certainly have lifted the visitors but they went on to be crushed by a whirlwind Doncaster spell and the match was over as a contest even before Doncaster scored their fifth try after half-an-hour.

It was 30-0 at half-time and although the Hawks made a fight of it for a substantial part of the second half and held out well for the last 15 minutes, they rarely looked like scoring. It was ironic that Doncaster's best player was Kyle Briggs, who started the season at South Leeds.

Their consolation came when Richard Chapman, who was Hunslet's best player with his busy work and darts from acting half-back, went over for their only try after 78 minutes.

It meant Chapman had some small consolation of being the only Hawks' player to reach double figures in the number of tries this time and he did it in 19 appearances, starting in only eight of those.

Hunslet now have to settle down and seek to quickly build a squad for next year. They may have to replace the willing prop Wayne Freeman, who was talked out of retirement this time, and he will be a big loss if he finally decides to call it a day.

There are some promising young players and if Chapman stays on he can give a useful lead but it is clear the defence must be tightened.

Since the Hawks tackled so well to become the first team to beat the-then leaders Barrow in the league, things have fallen apart and in losing those last seven games they conceded a massive 290 points.

It is all the more puzzling that their best effort in those matches came when they were only just beaten 26-20 away to one of the form teams, Keighley. It shows Hunslet have the ability but the need for consistency is all too evident.

This time the Hawks have used 51 players in the bid to find a settled squad and to test out players. Some clearly were not up to the mark but had to be given a chance.

One of the bright youngsters to have performed well is full-back Nathan Larvin, while Karl Gunney has progressed and Stuart Young did especially well in mid-season.

Attempts to improve finances appear to be succeeding, thanks in part to the Myrtle and Flame Club but it will be a hard road against clubs who appear to have far more to spend on players.

Doncaster: Luisi; Colton, Bauer, Leaf, Reittie; Briggs, Wood; Freer, Lawrie, Benson, Green, Lawton, Weeden. Subs: Gale, Buttery, Haley, Hart.
Hunslet Hawks: Larvin; Aitken, Cunningham, Cook, Childs; Maloney, Moxon; Freeman, Chapman, Lawton, Walkin, Blanchard, Young. Subs: Wainhouse, Gunnney, Thewliss, Helme.
Referee: Jamie Leahy.
Attendance: 711.