SUMMER Rugby! Probably the worst conditions ever experienced by some of our players at Whitehaven, but it is to their tremendous credit that they never waivered from the task and produced such a committed performance.

Despite the conditions we made very few errors and we are starting to see reward for the work we have been doing for a few seasons.

Becoming an established Championship side must start with strong foundations and the work that has been happening for years is now bearing fruits. The unsung work of the Furness Raiders backroom staff, that is part funded by the Super Lotto, has resulted in stars like Ryan Johnston, Jake Carter and Charlie Emslie becoming pivotal figures in the side.

But even that is underpinned by things like the JETS programme that helps pass on knowledge to local coaches from the professional staff that in turn helps to improve our junior sides. Our community work is starting to have positive results which we may not actually see for a decade but will help keep our club in rude health.

Our community team has massively expanded the number of primary schools that have been introduced to rugby league coaching and in turn there has been a 20 per cent increase in the number of children at our community clubs in the 6-10 age bracket.

Unfortunately, the secondary schools do not have the same budget for coaching, but it is probably more important that we target teenagers and either get them to continue in the game or get to enjoy it for the first time.

Our Advantage programme would love to appoint a development officer for Barrow with the remit of growing the game, helping to grow the community clubs at all levels including youth, open age, girls, ladies, and masters. We have written a draft development plan, but we need funding, and we are hoping that the local league can see the obvious benefits to their clubs and contribute.

In terms of foundations and becoming an established Championship club I think we are now also seeing the benefits of stability. The board itself hasn’t had too many changes in the last couple of years. I think we all share a similar vision and have got our own roles and responsibilities better defined.

I know in the distant past there have been different factions and disputes within the boardroom but most of our decision making and departmental plans are managed through a series of sub-committees. It is very rare that we vote on any issue though we often have deep discussions and respect different points of view.

The coaching team also benefits from stability. Paul Crarey and Steve Rea have been together for years and are well served by Andy Gaffney who has so many contacts within the game for recruitment. I am a strong believer that we are one team.

If we fail, we fail together, and I don’t share the view that the coach is the fall guy for a poor season. This might be contrary to any other sporting organisation but if we have made mistakes then the buck stops with the board rather than anyone we employ. It is our job to ensure that all the tools are in place for the organisation to continue to grow on and off the field.