
Whitehaven and Barrow will have two loanees in their respective squads for the Good Friday derby clash.
Hard on the news that Haven had secured deals for Nathan Connell and George Hill to link up for the eagerly-awaited derby, Barrow announced the second of their two loanees.
The Raiders had already confirmed that forward Kavan Rothwell was joining again from Leigh, before following up with news that Tom Forber, a hooker from Wigan Warriors was also coming in on an initial two-week loan deal.
Forber will be no stranger to the Recreation Ground having played on loan with Whitehaven last season.
Forber progressed through the Warriors system all the way to the first team, making his debut away at Hull KR in 2022.
He amassed a wealth of experience on loan in the Betfred Championship and Betfred League 1 last season, featuring for Widnes Vikings, Whitehaven, Wakefield Trinity and Oldham.
Forber has already been included in the Warriors’ matchday squad on three occasions this season, featuring against both Huddersfield Giants and London Broncos in the Betfred Super League.
The 20-year-old was also a key player for the Wigan reserves team that went on to win the Reserves Grand Final against St Helens last October.
His arrival at the Northern Competitions Stadium will enable the Raiders to further assess the knee injury fellow hooker Aaron Smith sustained away at Widnes Vikings in Round 1.
On his arrival, Barrow Raiders head coach Paul Crarey said: “Following an injury to Aaron Smith, we are once again grateful to the Wigan club, who have agreed to the loan signing of up-and-coming hooker Tom Forber.
“Tom is very highly thought of and has already played in the Wigan first team this year.
“We look forward to helping him develop on his rugby league journey, and thank Wigan for once again trusting us with one of their young talents.”
Director of rugby Andy Gaffney said: “It is always unfortunate to suffer an injury so early into the season, but to be able to bring in a player of Tom’s quality gives us the opportunity to further assess the severity of Aaron Smith’s knee injury.
“Whilst out on loan last season, Tom proved on a number occasions why he is so highly-rated, and we extend our thanks to Wigan for allowing us to play a part in his development.”
Head coach Paul Crarey has named his 21-man squad, with five changes in total from the squad that were heavily defeated on the opening weekend of the Betfred Championship season at Widnes.
Winger Andrew Bulman returns to the fold and could be in line to face his former club, having overcome a hamstring injury which has sidelined him during the early weeks of the season.
Loan signings Rothwell and Forber are both named, while Brett Carter and Delaine Gittens-Bedward are also back in the mix.
Max Anderson-Moore (who played on dual-reg for Millom on Saturday), Adam Jackson, Finn McMillan and the injured Aaron Smith drop out, with Harvey Makin also absent after Wigan Warriors recalled him from his loan spell earlier this week.
The Barrow squad is: Andrew Bulman, Greg Burke, Brett Carter, Max Clarke, Matt Costello, Luke Cresswell, Charlie Emslie, Tom Forber, Delaine Gittens-Bedward, James Greenwood, Ryan Johnston, Mike Ogunwole, Kevan Rothwell, Ryan Shaw, Razor Silva, Jarrad Stack, Shane Toal, Brad Walker, Tom Walker, Tom Wilkinson, Josh Wood.