Salford RLFC were defeated by Doncaster RLFC 78-8 in round four of the Betfred Championship.
Salford started the game slowly which was capitalised on by Edene Gebbie, whose first-half hattrick put the Dons 44-0 up at half-time in front of 1,896 supporters at the Eco-Power Stadium.
Despite a much more encouraging second half, Joe Hartley’s first Championship try and another by Ollie Garmston were not enough to maintain Salford’s 62-year winning record against Doncaster RLFC.
Doncaster’s fourteen tries now place this youthful Salford side in 18th place in the Championship, in spite of claiming their first Championship win against Hunslet two weeks ago.
Doncaster’s left edge threatened during the early stages of the game with centre James Glover combining with winger Edene Gebbie on several occasions near the try line before Connor Robinson powered over the line to score the first try of the game.
The experience of the Doncaster team showed with Cory Aston, who had a brief spell in Super League at Castleford Tigers, ran 60 yards, cutting through a retreating Salford defence to score Doncaster’s third try of the game.
Luis Johnson went over the try line in the first half, as well as Edene Gebbie scoring three first-half tries after fast passing sequences exploited space on the left wing to attack leaving Salford 44-0 down at the break.
Despite the score line, the Salford supporters who made the 142-mile roundtrip to South Yorkshire never stopped supporting the team until the very end and could be heard all around the stadium.
Doncaster full-back Thomas Holmes scored two second-half tries in the 43rd and 47th minute to give the home side a 54-0 lead.
Mike Grady’s Salford never gave up in the second half when their first try of the game came from a last-ditch offload from Harlen Smith to full-back Matty Ross who played it wide to Joe Hartley before powering over the try-line, scoring his first try since his Challenge Cup double against Hammersmith Hill Hoists.
Australian hooker Connor Jones, who played for Salford for one season in 2020, scored against his former side to make it 60-4 after coming on as an interchange.
Salford’s second try came from the following kick-off, after a devastatingly high kick by Matty Ross was knocked on by a Doncaster player before being reclaimed by Ollie Garmston for an easy stroll-in try.
Doncaster claimed three tries in the final 11 minutes of the game with tries from Muizz Mustapha, Cory Aston and a fourth try for Edene Gebbie which wrapped up the game, finishing 78-8.
Despite the score line, Salford generated much more chances to score in the second half and will take positives away from the encounter leading into a trip to Cumbria where Salford RLFC will face Workington Town on Sunday.
