Paul Crarey has praised Barrow Raiders’ patience after they overcame full-time Newcastle Thunder 14-6 in torrid conditions at the Matt Johnson Prestige Stadium.
Tries in either half from Bradd Crellin and Tee Ritson, plus six points from the boot of Ryan Shaw, were enough for a third successive Betfred Championship victory, marking an impressive return to the second division.
Speaking post-match, head coach Crarey admitted his side played well considering the bleak weather.
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“In these conditions, it can be a lottery at times. The ball can go anywhere,” he said.
“I thought Luke Cresswell at the back had to clean a lot of stuff up and didn’t put a foot wrong.
“The result could’ve gone either way today, but we’ve put ourselves in a great position to get the result.
“We played some really nice football in atrocious conditions. We moved them around pretty well and didn’t play one-out rugby.
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“As long as we keep putting ourselves in a position to compete, steal games and work hard as a group, we’ll be fine [this season].”
Sunday’s victory backed up an impressive Round 1 display at home to Sheffield Eagles and a successful trip to Cumbrian rivals Whitehaven in Round 2.
The Raiders are now third in the table, joining Widnes Vikings and Featherstone Rovers as the only sides to have won all three matches so far.
“I thought we did really well,” Crarey added. “We were patient; towards the back end of the first half, I think we dropped seven sets but defended manfully.
“I can’t fault the lads; they work hard every session.”
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