YORK KNIGHTS 66 DONCASTER 0
EMMA KENNEDY, LNER Community Stadium, Sunday
SCOTT GALEANO marked his 27th birthday with a hat-trick of tries as York laid down a real statement with a dominant twelve-try display which moved them into the top six for the first time this season.
Mark Applegarth’s side have had a sticky start to the new campaign but were at their scintillating best here, proving too hot for Doncaster to handle as they chalked up a third straight league win and fourth on the trot in all competitions.
The Knights welcomed back Ata Hingano from a broken hand while Kieran Hudson made his competitive debut after picking up a hamstring injury during January’s Amsterdam Challenge, with the benefits of competition for places evident.
The sides were evenly matched in the opening stages, but it was firmly one-way traffic once Paul McShane twisted his way across from close range to break the deadlock on eight minutes.
Jordan Thompson then sent Hingano through under the bar just after the quarter-hour, with Liam Harris kicking the first of eight conversions (he later brought up 500 points in York colours).
Sam Cook then forced his way through from close range, kick-starting a burst during which Harris reacted quickest to Hingano’s perfectly-weighted grubber and Hudson brought four defenders with him under the posts for his side’s fifth try.
Harris added three more goals, plus another when, off the back of an interception, Hingano burst through from 15 metres to score between the posts.
Trailing 34-0 at the break, the Dons needed a quick start to the second half to have any hope of hauling themselves back into the game – but instead conceded twice in the five minutes after the restart, with both improved.
Harris again reacted quickest to a Hingano grubber in a carbon copy of his first try before Cook found Galeano from a penalty, and he surged into the left corner in a move straight off the training ground.
The visitors did stem the tide until the 58th minute, when Galeano collected Harris’ floated cut-out pass and raced 50 metres down the left touchline, and the Australian speedster completed a 17-minute hat-trick shortly after, intercepting a loose Watson Boas pass and going 85 metres, with Harris converting for 56-0.
Both skipper Harris and Thompson were withdrawn with 15 minutes left, but York still managed a further two tries.
Having returned to the field after passing a head test, Kieran Buchanan caught the Doncaster defence cold from a quick tap penalty on the right wing (McShane improved the try), before young forward Harvey Reynolds completed the rout after flying onto Hingano’s pass on the hooter.
GAMESTAR: Doncaster could not handle York loose-forward Jordan Thompson’s bursting runs as he routinely laid the field position for the Knights to score.
GAMEBREAKER: The sides had been evenly matched until Paul McShane broke the deadlock.
MATCHFACTS
KNIGHTS
2 Joe Brown
34 Ben Jones-Bishop
3 Kieran Buchanan
20 Oli Field
35 Scott Galeano
6 Ata Hingano
7 Liam Harris
8 Jack Martin
9 Paul McShane
17 Ukuma Ta’ai
11 Jesse Dee
12 Connor Bailey
13 Jordan Thompson
Subs (all used)
10 Brenden Santi
19 Sam Cook
24 Harvey Reynolds
31 Kieran Hudson
Tries: McShane (8), Hingano (16, 37), Cook (24), Harris (27, 42), Hudson (33), Galeano (45, 58, 62), Buchanan (76), Reynolds (80)
Goals: Harris 8/10, McShane 1/2
DONCASTER
1 Craig Hall
5 Luke Briscoe
4 Reece Lyne
12 Alex Sutcliffe
18 Edene Gebbie
24 Watson Boas
7 Connor Robinson
28 Hugo Salabio
9 Greg Burns
10 Suaia Matagi
14 Jacob Jones
11 Sam Smeaton
8 Brad Knowles
Subs (all used)
15 Jordan Baldwinson
13 Loui McConnell
29 William Wilson
23 Jason Tali
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 10-0, 16-0, 22-0, 28-0, 34-0; 40-0, 46-0, 50-0, 56-0, 62-0, 66-0
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Knights: Jordan Thompson; Doncaster: Connor Robinson
Penalty count: 8-6
Half-time: 34-0
Referee: Matty Lynn
