BARROW head coach Paul Crarey has praised his side for the way they upped the intensity in the second half of their 34-22 pre-season victory over Newcastle Thunder.

The Raiders trailed 16-12 at half-time and fell further behind, but 22 unanswered points in the final 30 minutes saw the hosts wrap up a battling victory at the Matt Johnson Prestige Stadium.

Ryan Shaw accumulated a personal tally of 18 points, with two tries and five goals, while Jarrod Sammut made his first appearance for the club in the halves.

Crarey admits his side were below-par in the opening 40 minutes but praised the way they were able to turn things around after the interval.

“I thought we were too comfortable in the first half, going through the motions a little bit,” he said.

“We didn’t have much composure in the first half, and that led to us being in a little bit of trouble.

“Second half, though, [we had] masses of composure; 86 per cent completion, good structure and we scored some really nice tries.”

Crarey was also full of praise for the versatile nature of his squad, singling out Dan Toal, who recently signed a new two-year deal, Ryan Shaw, who captained the side against Thunder, and Ellis Gillam.

“They’re getting comfortable now,” he added. “That is the nature of this season; we will have to play people out of position each week.

“I thought Dan Toal reminded me of John Bateman at Wigan.

“We put him in the centres then moved him into the middle later on in the game when people were tired. He was efficient on the edge and efficient in the middle, and that’s what you’ve got to do.

“He [Ryan Shaw] has been outstanding. He can play wing, centre, full-back, and that’s the thing with our side.

“I thought Ellis Gillam was outstanding too. He’s solid, runs hard, and has good skills. He’s an honest guy, and a great kid with a great attitude.”