Have you seen this week's Free Press???

The Rovers way down the pecking order??

The Rovers have a War and Peace section.

So I don't know where you are coming from.

The Rovers have always had more coverage, even when we were getting bigger crowds than they were. Not that many of there current supporters will even remember that that was the case!

NOTHING on back page about rovers ,competion feature missing, regular reporters item also missing ,i dont think you read it regular or you would know these items missing , and for the past few weeks the dons report was only a copy of a report in other papers

I get the Free Press delivered every Thursday and I read it.



I am aware of the strike and yes I know there are match reports missing, but I am not talking about them.

I am talking about previews.

Look on page 82 and you will see a big preview of the Rovers next game against Cardiff.

And Ryan's surgery, as well as stats. and fixtures.

You will see nothing about the upcoming Whitehaven game.

Now this stuff from Rovers is probably sent in.

The Dons could presumably have done the same to advertise what is after all an important game, probably their last the way they are playing, to get some bums on seats.

That was my point.

all they want to do is get a paper published they not bothered about content when most of reporters are not working

The Dons need to have the best possible links with the Doncaster newspapers to maximise exposure.



It's a shame that for whatever reasons the chances of good publicity for the Whitehaven game has been lost.



It should also be in the newspapers' interests to have good links with the club as this will sell more papers for them.



I used to enjoy reading the sports coverage in The Advertiser years ago, but they dropped it completely from there.



At the supporters' meeting on Sunday, I will be asking the club what they think can be done to improve matters in this important area, and if the press are there, we can ask them what they can do as well!



If we are to move forwards as a club we need to be utilising every opportunity possible to get the Doncaster people back, and exposure through the press will play a big part in doing that.



Wouldn't it be nice if the club and the local press could embark on a joint venture to work together to get the missing fans back.



I also think that the Dons need to do more by way of showing game highlights on their website, and have regular newsletters sent to supporters. With today's e-mail age, this should be a very easy thing to do.



Other points that need raising at the meeting include:



1) How can the Dons and the Supporters' Trust forge better links and work better together?

2) How can the Dons make the supporters feel more "included"?

3) What objectives have the club got in mind to build the supporter base, and what are their targets?

4) As the club have links with Doncaster College, could they not do a research project to find what the club needs to do to attract the Doncaster people to the club?



A town the size of Doncaster ought to be able to attract crowds of 1200 to 1500, at least. If we could do that, we would be able to compete at Championship level. That should be our immediate aim.



The club has come on in leaps and bounds since the low days of last year. I am concerned that moving on to the next level will probably prove much harder unless something more radical is done.



What other points does everyone else think we should raise at Sunday's meeting?



Please tell all your friends about the meeting and let's see if we can get a good turn out.

Can only agree with everything you've put there.

One of the problems is getting fans not only to the games but also to meetings. No doubt it will be the same faces.

Are you deliberately missing the point here?

It's up to the Dons to make sure their copy goes in .. if the Thorne Marauders can do it and several poxy cricket clubs can and local football clubs and the Belles... so can the Dons.

No reporters need be involved, it's just a submission. Like a bloody advert.

So it's the Dons fault not the paper's.

I'm not criticising the Free Press.

And I should imagine they do care what goes in their paper, strike or no strike.

Exactly, however because of this forum there is at least something to take to the meeting, some ideas.

DM has the main thrust, if he would care to present them at the meeting.

I shan't be going, I have been to them in the past and have been put off them. The atmosphere is not conducive to a sensible exchange of views, personalities and egos can interfere. I would sooner do it on the web.

The Dons have been poor at P.R. for years

... but if we all thought that ...

Nobody would go and that's pretty much where we are at.

Folk just can't be @rsed.

Full marks to those few that do go of course.

S-offish , its difficult to attend if you leave matches early

Who me????

Never!

So if we of the loyal five hundred or so can't be bothered what chance is there for attracting new blood?

We, the loyal five hundred, can be bothered to pay our money and attend matches.

However most of us can't be bothered to attend meetings.

The two are separate.



Perhaps the explanation is that we expect the management to have all the bases covered themselves through their experience in the game and running a business.

We are mainly spectators, we just want to watch and be entertained with no strings attached. We don't want to be running a club.



Attracting new blood is possible and depends on marketing and having a good product and having a demand.

There is not much demand for Championship rugby and the sport is dying ... even though the quality of play is excellent.



I admire the people who manage rugby league clubs.

Perhaps the RFL can breathe fresh life into the sport via a new format, otherwise our demise is inevitable.



New spectators and interest will only come with success and that is a Catch 22 situation ... we can't afford it.



We need to be more competitive next season, even that will only add 200/300 to the gate.



But we have done OK this season and we had a fair side to watch.



PS

The lack of interest in the Whitehaven game on here and lack of forecasts and expectations and any buzz speaks volumes.

And we are a subset of the loyal 500.

We could start by being positive about the future and talking up the club to friends, nieghbours, work mates etc. You are right in saying we need good marketing etc but everyone can do their little bit. If only a quarter of us could encourage one more person to attend that would be a great start.

Just about everyone I know is made aware I am a Dons fan, I don't keep it a secret.

I do tell them rugby is great...

....they sympathise in the main.



My brothers used to be Dons fans, I however kept going to watch.

I know lots of people who used to be Dons fans ... they might have a look very occasionally ... but essentially they are lost.

Will be trying to get to the game this week if I can get a lift from Thorne as the wife is working and needs the car. Have not been to many games this season has we still go to our caravan on the coast and its still a bolt hole for the wife to escape to after slogging it on the wards. She finnishes next June so will def try to get to a few more games. Havent been on here for ages but could not get logged on for ages but now have a super dooper new computer and still getting the hang of it. Hope the Dons have a good match and touch wood they always seem to play well when I go, just ask Weighman.

Thet will ceratinly be some Free Press coverage of the Dons this week. Carl, Tony and Ray came out to open for a new gym for the charity I work for. This was a fantastic gesture. Carl was great. He phoned back as soon as he got the email.



So I do have to stand up for the guys on this one and say what a great piece of PR.

Does anybody know who is now sports editor at the free press. At the last Rovers game there we're a group of Rovers fans campaigning for Pete Catt, as he had lost his job as sports editor.



So I was surprised to see Pete at the Dons game the following day. He said he was still doing a little work for them.



With Pete, who attended all dons home games, no longer sports editor, it makes you wonder what the coverage will be next season. Its discusting that there is no preview when we are in the playoffs. If Pete is there today, i shall ask him why there was no coverage, but he possibly wont be able to answer if he is no longer the editor

There are two problems over coverage in the Free Press. One is that Peter Catt who covered Dons matches has been sacked by Johnston Press who own the Free Press. The other is that the small number of people running the club have enough to do without adding the job of providing copy to appear in the paper. The Free Press will generally publish material about local clubs if it is sent to them. Is there anybody among our small group of dedicated fans who could spare up to an hour a week to put together an article and email it to the Free Press? I am sure that Carl Hall and the others would gladly provide the information for the article. I would volunteer but I already do more than enough jobs to occupy my spare time.

I would quite happily have a go, if information was passed forward to me.

Back page article in todays Free Press, contribution from Tony Miller on this weekends game .