Doncaster Knights scrum-half Alex Dolly will reach a major milestone this weekend as he makes his 100th appearance for the club when Cornish Pirates visit Castle Park.
Now in his fifth season with the Knights, Dolly admits the landmark has been a long time coming, but one he is immensely proud of: “It’s nice to get it at Doncaster. It’s something I thought potentially I would’ve done earlier in the season, but with the injury it’s taken a little bit longer,” he said.
“I’m really happy. It’s a club that I really enjoy playing for and have been at now for five seasons, so it’s a massive one for me.”
The Australian reflects on his time at the club over the years and found it hard to single out just one standout moment, “there’s been a few decent ones. We’ve had some good wins over the years. Obviously the Ealing ones stick out, Sale away last year, and then probably in my first season, Jersey away, was a good one.”
For Dolly, its not only the memories but also the people that have made his Knights journey particularly special:
“I’ve had some really good teammates. There’s a core group of boys that have been here with me from my first game to my hundredth, which is really, really nice,” he explained.
“Some boys have moved on, same with staff as well, but I’ve been really lucky with the people I’ve met and the people who are still involved. It’d be too hard to pigeonhole it to one moment.”
Having arrived in England from Australia and spent time at Rotherham before joining Doncaster, Dolly now admits South Yorkshire feels very much like home.
“I think I’m going to have to consider it home,” he laughed. “I didn’t think I’d spend the majority of my adulthood in South Yorkshire, but it’s been five years now, so it’s probably my adopted home at the minute.”
The milestone appearance will come in front of the Knights faithful at Castle Park, Dolly explained the importance of it being at home. “It’s brilliant. That’s what I wanted it to be, at home in front of the crowd,” he said. “Hopefully we can get something going again this weekend against Pirates and turn that result the right way.”
Looking ahead to the challenge posed by Cornish Pirates, Dolly is expecting a tough but entertaining contest.
“They’ve probably not had the season they wanted either, so they’ll be coming up here really hard, trying to get five points away from home,” he said. “We know they’re big, physical, very good in the set piece, but they’ve also been moving the ball really well.”
“Their game’s evolved they’ve got threats across the park. We’ll have to be on it set-piece wise, but once the ball’s in play, we’ve got to be on it as well.”
With a century of appearances now within touching distance, Dolly will be hoping to mark the occasion in the best way possible, with a Knights victory at Castle Park.
Secure yourself a ticket now to support Dolly and the rest of the team tomorrow, kick off 2:30PM. Get tickets here!
