York City Knights v Doncaster has hallmarks of a League One classic

The Knights go into the game on the back of a run of four notable wins, and need another victory to keep pace with leaders Bradford Bulls ahead of their showdown at Odsal in two weeks’ time. They have a trio of key men back too, after they missed last week’s win over Newcastle.

The Dons, meanwhile, have slipped from early title contenders down to sixth but walloped Hemel Stags 74-10 last time out and remain very much in the play-off reckoning.

The Knights won the reverse fixture at the Keepmoat Stadium 16-14 at the end of March but only after withstanding a barrage of pressure in a one-sided second half.

When it was suggested Bootham Crescent could be set to witness another cracker, Ford said: “I would go along with that.

“Doncaster will come and give everything they’ve got, and we will do the same.

“When we played them the last time, it was a belting game and they challenged us immensely and we had to work very hard.

“I’ve never seen a York-Doncaster game that is not full-bloodied and high quality.”

Asked if Richard Horne’s team are lower in the table than expected, Ford said: “We’re only just past half-way in the season. It’s a bit premature to talk about that.

“I’m sure Doncaster will be looking at the next block of fixtures and aiming to get plenty of wins and get to where they should be. They have quality players and a quality coach.

“They won 74-10 last week so they’re obviously not that far away.

“We’re expecting a really tough challenge from Horney’s blokes this weekend.”

Another victory in a fifth successive four-pointer against teams with play-off hopes would be a further big indicator of York’s title credentials. But Ford said: “I’ve not thought about that.

“I’m thinking about Doncaster. We’re taking it a game at a time. We have to focus all our energy and attention on Doncaster. If we don’t, they’re good enough to beat us.

“What comes after that, we will worry about then.”