THE unbeaten start to the season by Barrow Raiders has impressed the watching eye of one of the club's all-time greats.

Phil Atkinson, who represented Barrow with distinction for just over 14 years as a player and later served in both team manager and coaching roles, still keeps a lookout for the performances of the side.

Although his commitments coaching his home-town amateur club Ulverston – where the centre began his rugby league playing days – take up much of his time on Saturdays, Atkinson still tries to get down to Craven Park to watch whenever he can.

And he is particularly impressed with the defensive qualities the Raiders have shown after racking up 11 straight wins in all competitions so far in 2017, praising the work of head coach and former team-mate Paul Crarey.

“They're flying at the moment, aren't they?” said Atkinson. “Cresta has got them really well-drilled and the squad is obviously really united – you can see that by the way they are playing.

“Defence wins games and Barrow are not scared of defending. They actually enjoy defending, which is always a good sign, and they've got lads who can score tries all over the field, so they're certainly good to watch.”

It is not just the senior side which is thriving though, with the Furness Raiders under-19s team enjoying a strong debut season in the College Rugby League competition and the elite under-16s squad making good progress as well.

Ulverston prop Brad Williamson is one of the players from the area involved with the Furness set-up, with Atkinson pleased that youngsters in the area have the opportunity to progress to play professionally in Barrow.

And he likened the situation Crarey faced upon returning to the club ahead of the 2015 campaign to the one when Darren Holt took over following the Raiders' relegation from the Championship in 2011, with Atkinson serving as Holt's assistant.

“When Cresta took over a few years ago, it was a similar situation to when me and Darren Holt took over,” said Atkinson.

“The team got relegated to the bottom division and we had to rebuild from scratch, and Cresta has done that and more.

“He's got the youth development with the under-16s and under-19s now as their feeder teams. He's taken it a step on from there and it's all looking good at the moment.”