PAUL Crarey was satisfied Barrow Raiders got plenty out of their opening pre-season friendly, despite the one-sided nature of the final score against the Barrow and District Select.

The 92-4 win was an opportunity for Raiders head coach Crarey to see his five off-season signings in a game situation for the first time, as well as seeing how they fitted into the systems he has implemented at the club.

Furness Raiders under-19s pair Jake Carter and Ryan Johnston got to sample life at senior level too, and their respective displays both pleased Crarey – as did that of former St Helens half-back Lewis Charnock, playing at scrum half, on his bow for the team.

“His field-kicking was outstanding,” said Crarey. “We wanted a replacement for (Chris) Hankinson and a natural half, and he struck the ball really well kicking them off the touchline. He looks classy with the ball in hand.

“He reminds me a bit of Darren Holt when he first hit the scene; probably not the quickest, but he's got a good brain on him and he looked the part, looked comfortable with the ball in hand and made some good decisions.

“I was happy with the two halves and the two hookers – (Karl) Ashall and Dan Abram – did really well, and also the two lads who stepped up from the academy. Jake Carter and Ryan Johnston were outstanding.”

Johnston, who recently signing professional terms with Barrow, and Carter have both been training with the first team for some time now.

Carter is likely to see further action in next month's friendly at home to Oldham too, having signed amateur forms to allow him to feature in these games.

Crarey has been impressed with the progress both are making and is optimistic there will be more homegrown players involved in these type of fixtures in the future.

“That's what we're trying to do, we're trying to farm our own kids so they've got some progression,” said Crarey.

“Hopefully next year, we'll play some other kids from the academy and they'll make the step up. Matty Brown is an outstanding talent who is coming through the academy and certainly looks like he'll play for Barrow eventually.

“Jake is only on a trial – we'll probably take him against Oldham and that will be his last game – Ethan Kelly is with us as well and we're giving them an opportunity to see if they like professional rugby.

“It's a massive difference between amateur and professional rugby, which you could see when you see them out there playing in this environment with those players.”

Trialist Tom Loxam was at Craven Park, but did not feature in the game as the RFL's rules regarding signing on players as amateurs means they only allowed to retain that status for a month. Instead, he is being saved for the four matches against professional opposition.

The same is true for Millom prop Ethan Kelly, although he did end up featuring as the sole interchange player for a short-handed Barrow and District side.

But although they were comfortably beaten by the Raiders, Crarey hailed the efforts of Paul Henderson's team and is determined to ensure this fixture remains an annual occurrence.

“I think it's worthwhile and all credit to the Barrow and District lads because I thought they were outstanding,” said Crarey.

“The scoreline, we never take that into account, we just want to see us run some shape for the new players coming in and we did that.

“Credit to them, they came up with a score from a loose bit of play from us and we got punished for that, but I can't praise them highly enough for coming with low numbers and fighting to get a side out.

“I just felt a bit sorry for the lads who play and gave their all – and they did give their all and they were a credit to the Barrow and District.”