A FABULOUS 50-6 victory on the artificial pitch at Newcastle Thunder gave Barrow their fifth League One win on the trot to join Toronto Wolfpack at the top of the table.

The two pre-season favourites are setting the pace, and the game in Canada on May 20 is now looking like the one which will determine who will finish top after the first phase of 15 games.

After 15 games, the top eight play each other once. There is an RFL formula that determines who plays home or away and, if the formula is the same as last year, I’m pretty positive that if Barrow finish second to Toronto, we will have to go to Canada again.

So there is massive incentive for Barrow to win in Toronto in a month’s time and gain home advantage against our nearest rivals.

That job was made even harder this week with the announcement that ex-Leigh superstar Ryan Brierley has joined the Wolfpack.

Brierley was transferred to Huddersfield Giants last year, but has been unable to hold down a regular first-team spot, and when Toronto came calling with the opportunity for him to link up with old coach Paul Rowley, it was a situation that suited all parties, with Brierley wanting to play every week alongside another marquee ‘Ryan’ signing in ex-Leeds Rhinos forward Ryan Bailey.

Toronto are taking full advantage of the relaxing of the salary cap this season – good timing!

In contrast, we have lost the services of our superstar half-back Jamie Dallimore for an unbelievable six games.

Dallimore pleaded not guilty to a Grade D dangerous contact charge with Macauley Davies in the 41st minute of Barrow’s League One match against Workington, but he was found guilty, banned for six matches and fined £75.

Davies suffered a nasty back injury, but while the disciplinary committee accepted there was no intent to injure, their judgement was that a message needed to be sent with regards to this type of tackle and took into account Dallimore's previous disciplinary infractions – primarily at Oldham – leading to a ban above the recommended period.

The club have decided to appeal, although Dallimore is still ineligible for tomorrow’s trip to York City Knights in the fifth round of the Challenge Cup.

Let’s hope the club are successful, as Dallimore was just beginning to hit peak form. York away is difficult enough and, although we have not lost to them in a decade – a run stretching 11 games – he will be missed.

York are a bit inconsistent at the moment; after beating Rochdale Hornets in the previous round, they have been beaten by North Wales Crusaders at home and Oxford away in League One.

However, on Good Friday they got back to winning ways with a gritty 16-8 victory over Doncaster. New owner Jon Flatman hailed the biggest league attendance (1,012) in five years as a huge step forward for the new-look club.

Asked if Barrow were favourites for tomorrow's cup tie, Flatman said: “You would've thought so. They've started like a house on fire and they did a job on us last time."

Well, Barrow are favourites with the bookies at 1/6, with York having a 14-point start on the handicap, which is a bit steep.

There is no pressure on us and this game isn’t about league points – it's about money with a good draw against Super League opposition the financial carrot.

The sixth-round draw is on Tuesday from 6.30pm on the BBC News channel’s Sportsday programme, so let’s hope we are in it!