Last updated at 12:47, Thursday, 16 August 2012

I GUESS most of us have been spellbound recently by the exploits of the Great Britain athletes in the Olympics.

To see Britain’s finest ruling the world in so many diverse sporting events has been a great fillip for the nation and the overriding view from the experts is that the success of the likes of Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and so many others will see a massive upsurge in youngsters taking up a whole variety of sports in a bid to emulate their heroes.

There is no question whatsoever that success breeds success in any walk of life, and I for one think that what is now happening nationally can be paralleled right here in Barrow with regards to rugby league.

A strong and successful Barrow Raiders will have the impact of seeing more and more local youngsters taking up our great game and, long term, this increased player base will have the effect of more and more talented players emerging to become professional players, hopefully one day strutting their stuff at Craven Park.

Most of our local clubs run sides to cater for youngsters from the age of six through to open age, so why not take your child or grandchild along to your nearest local club and get them playing our great game?

The benefits they will get from this are enormous – new friends, good exercise in a well managed environment, the thrill of playing a great game, the list is endless really; and, who knows, one day they may well be emulating the likes of Ade Gardner (St Helens), Ben Harrison (Warrington), Ryan Shaw (Warrington and Barrow) and current Barrow Raiders stars such as Liam Harrison, Liam Campbell, Lee Haney, Chris Larkin, Jamie Butler, Mike Backhouse, Dan Toal, Andrew Dawson, et al. All these lads (and others) began their careers in the local mini-rugby game.

Currently, the young, almost exclusively local, Barrow Raiders team are coming to the end of their long battle for honours in 2012; but the burning question is will their medals be gold, silver or bronze?

As things stand the team are assured of a top-three finish in the Championship One league table but they are very much in the race to finish top of the pile. Indeed, if they can win two of their final three league matches they will be assured of second place in the table.

The burning question is, of course, can they take gold by finishing top of the pile? I have no doubt that they can but to maintain their challenge they must get something from this Sunday’s trip up the coast to Workington. A Raiders victory will mean we need just one more win (against either Rochdale or South Wales) to finish as league leaders and make us hot favourites to reach the Grand Final at the end of September.

Matches just don’t come any bigger than this one and there is no question that it is the most important Cumbrian derby for many a long year. The match has the feel of a Grand Final about it, and for me and the rest of my family it just can’t come quickly enough.

What the team need more than anything is for us supporters to turn out in force. The club are organising a fleet of coaches to take fans to the game and places on these can be booked by contacting the Rugby Shop in Scott Street. Three coaches had already been filled before last Sunday’s game, so get your places booked and join the exodus up the coast to watch what promises to be an epic encounter. Let’s all cheer this great local side to the title they so richly deserve.

And remember…….the future is bright; the future is blue and white.

First published at 16:10, Wednesday, 08 August 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk