Barrow Raiders will be looking for a sixth consecutive Championship victory today when they travel to the North East to face Newcastle Thunder.
A win would take Barrow to the top of the table as current leaders London Broncos don’t play until Sunday against Doncaster.
But this is not the gimmee it would have been in previous seasons because Thunder have been revitalised since the merging of the Championship and League One divisions this year.
They currently sit in fifth place with six wins from nine games. It will be a good, stern test for the Raiders and they will need to make a better start as previous games have seen rather untidy openings.
Coach Paul Crarey has named his 21-man squad and young forward Finn McMillan, who signed a two-year deal with Wigan Warriors in December last year, comes into the squad for the first time this season.
Also returning to the fold is Tom Walker, who has been sidelined with an injury since Good Friday’s victory against Widnes Vikings, and Jarrad Stack, who was absent from last weekend’s squad.
The trio replace Harvey Makin, Trent Ruddy and Seth Woodend.
Newcastle coach Graham Steadman has already named his 17 for the match as he looks to continue Thunder’s hugely improved start to the season.
- Barrow: Archer, Bishop, Broadbent, Bullock, Costello, Cresswell, Emslie, Johnston, King, Knott, McMillan, Richards, Ritson, Robson, Stack, Teare, Toal, B Walker, T Walker, Watson, Wood.
- Newcastle: Djekeussi, Law, Ferreira, Ward, Roberts, Antrobus, Pemberton, Jackson, Reynolds, Whittingham, Santi, Tennison, Yuniyayawa, Foster, Lipp, Inman, Williams.
