Championship Talk: Raiding the Championship

fevnut's blog is absolutely delighted to have received permission to bring you a regular column from Gareth Walker.

Gareth is a top rugby league journalist who has one very exceptional distinction. He chooses to write about matters pertaining to the Championship and League One.

Although this blog is devoted to Featherstone Rovers it is always good to read opinions about matters relevant to us, but not specifically about us. We hope you enjoy reading Gareth's column each week.

Raiding the Championship

IT has almost gone under the radar with so much focus at the top end of the Betfred Championship, but Paul Crarey deserves considerable credit for his work at Barrow Raiders this year.

Sunday’s 20-6 win over Rochdale Hornets put the promoted Raiders on 13 points and in eighth place in the table.

Having drawn no fewer than three matches this year - two of them against Swinton - Barrow have only lost two more matches than full-time teams Leigh and London.

That’s an outstanding achievement having come up from League One, and at the moment they look a safe bet to preserve their Championship status.

Last year Swinton Lions survived with 16 points - and Barrow still have another 14 matches to play.

Their progress this year has been built on their superb home form, which has included taking a point from table-toppers Toronto and beating the Centurions.

They have also achieved it without the help of a dual registration partnership, something proud Barrovian Crarey is passionate about - along with sticking to a strict budget in their first season back in the second tier.

“We'll go with what we've got until the well runs dry,” Crarey told the North West Evening Mail earlier this month.

“I haven't asked for anybody and the board have said ‘if any money comes available, you can have someone’, and that's fine.

“If not, we're not going to bankrupt the club and we'll stick with what we've got and see if that's good enough to get us until the end of the year.

“We want to keep the identity of the team.”

That has meant plenty of opportunities for talented young local players, who have fitted in alongside impressive overseas duo Dean Parata and Alec Susino and evergreen veteran Martin Aspinwall.

Prop Joe Bullock has earned admirers in the top flight for his performances and even a handful of long-term injuries hasn’t disrupted the side too much.

Crarey stays loyal to an expansive style of rugby as well, and if his team replicates their first half of the season in coming months, he should be among the contenders for the competition’s Coach of the Year award.

The one blot on their copybook has been an inability to win on the road - their solitary point away from Craven Park came in a draw at Swinton.

They have another chance to amend that at Featherstone this weekend, but Crarey and his squad deserve recognition regardless for their impact in the Championship this year.