BARROW Raiders head coach Paul Crarey says his side will have to battle for every inch of territory when Oldham come to town tomorrow.

The Cumbrians are in for a huge fight in front of the BBC TV cameras as they go toe-to-toe with the Roughyeds in the Challenge Cup Third Round.

Crarey is under no illusions about the task at hand, but says his side are up for the fight.

“I think Oldham will bring a little bit of a different challenge,” he said. “They are very quick on the outside back.

“Their full-back is an ex-Wigan player and he is electric, so they will take some holding.

“John Chadwick, who is a friend of mine, is a director at Oldham and as soon as the draw was made he was straight on the phone to me.

“He’s a good bloke and he’s very enthusiastic and he was rattling off all the players and the player’s names and I just put in that we’ve got a pretty good side as well, and we are looking forward to it.

“We know that we are going to have to fight, but our lads are ready. We have had a good run in the friendlies and the 1895 Cup and now we face a bigger challenge, but we won’t shy away from it.”

Anyone looking at the league tables could be forgiven for thinking that the hosts are favourites given they ply their trade in the Betfred Championship, while the visitors are in the division below.

Crarey has no such misconceptions.

“They are a star-studded side,” he said. “They’ve built a Championship squad even though they are playing in Championship One.

“They have brought in Jamie Ellis and Danny Craven who are two really established half-backs.

“Danny was a top-half back in the Championship last year and Jamie Ellis has played Super League for Castleford.

“And it’s across the board. Jordan Turner in the centre has played Super League, Craig Kopczak played for Featherstone who were in the top-half of the Championship last year.

“People are saying Oldham are a Championship One side, but they are more than that.

“They will romp Championship One this year and they will be a very good Championship side as well when they go up.”

Even though the odds may look against Raiders when you look at the two squads on paper, what happens on the turf and not on the team-sheet will be what counts.

Crarey added: “It will be a battle to see who is the smartest, who cracks first, who has the better kicking game.

“It will about who is first to the loose ball, the kick chase, whether you put pressure on the kicker.

“In all of those scenarios we have to be the best we can be. We call those the one per centers, so we have got to be the best at the one per centers to give ourselves a chance.”