WHAT should have been an experience of a lifetime for all the staff and players of Barrow Raiders unfortunately turned into a bit of a nightmare.

From the visa fiasco to the 70-2 scoreline, Saturday’s journey to Toronto did not go to plan.

The Canadian match reporter made me smile when he said: “The Wolfpack are now 8-0 in English Rugby League’s third tier, and it seems the 7,144 fans who turned out at Lamport Stadium now know the drill for this season. Enjoy the party. Appreciate the finely-tuned rugby league machine that is the Toronto Wolfpack. And don’t expect any nail-biters”.

I didn’t watch the game and from speaking to several supporters who did, I don’t particularly want to. They all said Barrow were very disappointing, but at the end of the day they were playing a team full of Super League standard players coached by two of the best coaching brains in British rugby league, Paul Rowley and Brian Noble. Bank-rolled by a millionaire, I’m sure that they will be competing in Super league in a couple of seasons, but is the model sustainable and what happens when the novelty wears off?

Although we are disappointed, perhaps the experience provided the coach with a greater insight into the mental strength of the squad and how they individually coped under severe adversity. Have we got what it takes to get promoted, or do we need a couple of additions?

Toronto will win the league, no doubt, and I can’t see anyone defeating them, so our goal is to make sure that we also get promoted. The RFL have changed the play-off rules this season, in that if you finish top after the play-off phase you are automatically promoted. Only the second spot will be contested by a further play-off format. If you remember last season, Toulouse went unbeaten through the whole season until they played Rochdale in France in the promotion game and, to the disbelief of everyone associated with rugby league, lost.

So this time the RFL are taking no risks and that’s why the rule has changed.

I don’t think Barrow will be too concerned about that, because if we did finish second after the play-off phase we would have had to go to Canada again.

However, there is a bit of a conundrum forming and it is this; if the play-off format is identical to last season in the second phase, the second-placed team after the first phase 15 games will have to play Toronto away. Do we really want to go to Canada in the second phase? .I don’t think so. Paul Crarey may have to play smart and the last game of the first phase at Whitehaven could be interesting if the prize is second spot.

Let’s eradicate the trip to Toronto from the memory and move on with a positive mindset as we celebrate reaching the final of the League One Cup at Bloomfield Road against North Wales Crusaders tomorrow.

Crusaders are a very inconsistent team, which has placed them in the bottom half of the table, but last week they had a very impressive victory against London Skolars 50-10, with ex-Raiders hooker James Dandy and free-scoring centre Dale Bloomfield leading the way.

They have also succumbed to the might of Toronto in Wrexham, and were hammered 80-0, but they have beaten York and Newcastle, so although we are firm favourites to win, we must be professional and keep our discipline.

After stopping at home last week, Jamie Dallimore, Dan Toal, Danny Morrow and Martin Aspinwall are all fresh and available for selection and they should give us the lift we need to bring the silverware back to Craven Park and put the smiles back on the supporters’ faces.