Barrow Raiders kicked off their pre-season schedule with a clear cut 46-6 home win over League One side Rochdale Hornets.
It stemmed from a very positive start with Raiders on the front foot to score the opening try when Andrew Bulman squeezed between two tacklers to score the first try of 2024.
The second score soon arrived with the returning prop Tom Walker producing a clever pass to put Luke Cresswell over. Then by the 18th minute Barrow had scored again as Bulman grabbed his second with an acrobatic finish in the corner.
Fans had to wait until just before halftime for the fourth try when Hornets made a handling mistake which set up a Barrow break down the left. The ball eventually reached Ryan Johnston and he raced 25 metres to crash over by the posts.
Trailing 22-0 at the break Rochdale were the first over the whitewash in the second half when Josh Andrade scored when the Hornets built on a penalty for a high tackle. Martin Ridyard converted.
The Raiders responded with a fine individual try by Ryan Shaw after he intercepted a pass on his own line and raced the full length of the pitch to dive over in the corner.
Barrow continued to have the better of things and there were further tries for Luke Broadbent, Brett Carter and Shaw before the end. Shaw also ended with seven successful kicks out of eight attempts.
The Raiders are at home again on Saturday when former forward Carl Forster brings his North Wales Crusaders side to south Cumbria (kick-off 3pm).
