JONO Smith is the sort of player who the tag 'cult hero' was seemingly invented for – and that is no bad thing.

Having signed from Rochdale Hornets during the off-season, it did not take the barrel-chested second row long to earn such a status with the Barrow Raiders supporters.

Smith's powerful, rampaging carries with the ball in hand, his tackle breaks and apparent willingness to put stopping his opponents in their tracks ahead of his personal well-being in defence, combined with the simple joy of just being out on the rugby field he seems to exude, quickly saw to that.

Indeed, it soon became apparent just why Raiders head coach Paul Crarey had been such a long-time admirer of the 29-year-old, who made a long-awaited return from injury against former club Rochdale last Sunday.

For his part, Smith has been enjoying life at Barrow as well and is always glad to have the backing of the fans.

“I've loved it,” said Smith, reflecting on his first season at Craven Park. “The fans are great and all the boys have been really welcoming.

“I knew a few before I came in, but I've really enjoyed my year at Barrow so far.

“Everywhere I've been, I've had a good rapport with the fans, but there are a lot more numbers at Barrow and it's a very friendly environment.

“It's great and it's good to have quite vocal support behind you. It does pick you up when you're finding it tough out there.”

Prior to last Sunday's 17-10 victory over Rochdale, it had been a tough time for Smith and his team-mates as the Raiders closed out the regular season on the back of a seven-game losing streak.

It was even more frustrating for the man who works as a brick-layer by day, being one of the many who fell victim to what seemed like an injury curse hanging over the club at that time.

Therefore it came as something of a relief to Smith to be given the green light to resume playing at the start of the Betfred Championship Shield Super Eights.

Coincidentally, his first game back just happened to be against the Hornets, where he spent two seasons prior to joining Barrow and was part of the team which won promotion to the Championship in 2016.

And it could hardly have been a better comeback for Smith, with Barrow grinding out a win and him scoring their opening try in the process.

“The injury probably came at the worst possible time and it was pretty frustrating watching the boys struggling as they had been doing for the past few weeks,” said Smith.

“It's been pretty tough watching and I'm not the best watcher anyway – especially when you're team are getting beaten up and down to the bare bones.

“You just want to get back out there, but I was pleased to get back for what was a must-win game.

“Obviously it was a must-win game, and it was a pretty sweet feeling to score and get one over on them in the end.”

That victory saw Barrow take a huge step towards ensuring their Championship status for 2019, putting them seven points clear of the bottom two with six games of the Super Eights still to go.

Leigh Centurions, who missed out on a place in the Qualifiers by just one point, provide the next opponent for the Raiders tomorrow, with the full-timers having endured a torrid time of late as well.

Despite several key personnel on and off the field having departed in recent weeks after failing to secure a top-four finish in the regular season, the Centurions stormed to a 68-6 win over Sheffield Eagles last Sunday.

Barrow have already beaten Leigh once this season though, memorably winning 24-20 on the back of a hat-trick from Shane Toal at Craven Park back in February.

The reverse fixture at the end of April proved just as close-fought for most of the match, with the Raiders having a try disallowed which would have put them in front with around a quarter of an hour to play before Leigh accelerated clear in the final 10 minutes to win 46-18.

Smith is certainly feeling in a confident mood going into the match and believes there is no reason him and his team-mates cannot spring another surprise, particularly with some of the pressure of the relegation battle now lifted.

“We beat them earlier in the season at Craven Park and gave them a game for 65 minutes at the Sports Village,” said Smith.

“We should have self-belief we can go there and do a job on them because have done earlier on in the year and we gave them a right game away from home.

“We've got nothing to fear going there, they've had their troubles as well and I think it should be a good game.”