PAUL Crarey has praised the impact of Nathan Mossop at Barrow Raiders, ahead of the hooker's 150th appearance for the club.

Mossop has remained a key member of the Raiders side under head coach Crarey, and is set to reach the milestone in tonight's Challenge Cup fourth-round tie at home to Keighley Cougars.

It comes just a week after he made his 100th start for Barrow in the 50-14 victory away to Coventry Bears and Crarey – one of the men to wear the number nine shirt at Barrow in the past – is delighted to have him as part of the squad.

“Nathan is a great kid,” said Crarey. “He's very conscientious about his performance, he wants to learn, he'll sit down and he'll take criticism, and he really works hard on his game.

“He's become a prolific try-scorer for us now after we changed his style a bit, we made him pass and play through the line, and even if he has to come back through the line it has paid dividends for him.

“He ripped Coventry apart in his second spell on Sunday and he gets inside a defender and just burns rucks, and he's got great vision as well for a nine.

"He's been outstanding at the back end of last year when he came back and he's carried that on this year, and he's a great lad as well.”

It is eight years since Mossop stepped up from amateur level at Millom to play for Raiders, and there is now a strong presence in the squad of players who have come out of the community game in recent years.

That is something Crarey has worked to encourage since returning for his second spell in charge at Craven Park and he is pleased to see the newer players starting to make their mark at professional level as well.

Allied to that is the likes of Lewis Charnock moving up to the area for work after signing for the club, with his employer Optech Fibres also helping props Joe Bullock and Tom Walker with training in preparation for a life beyond rugby league.

“Danny Morrow is an example of somebody who has stepped up to the plate, Andy Litherland is another one who is doing brilliant for us and Luke Cresswell has been outstanding,” said Crarey.

“His attitude, his mental approach, his diets, he's put size on and he's done exactly what we've asked him to do.

“Ethan Kelly is turning up every week to train with us and it's great to see these kids push through, and we've got 21 local-based players in our squad now. Even the ones who are from away have actually committed to moving up here and getting jobs.

“We've got no loans, no dual-registrations and all of our own players, after two years we've got an academy and an under-16s programme, so we're just pleased about the way things have gone.”