BARROW Raiders second-row Dan Toal has opened up about inspirations and his rugby journey.

As part of the ongoing club's 'getting to know' series Toal took the time to speak on the Raiders' YouTube channel about his Rugby League career.

Toal also spoke about his life away from the club that he has been representing for 12 years.

He said: "I am a pipe fitter in the yard. I have been there for like 15 years, it's exciting." 

Despite not crediting any former Rugby League professionals for kick-starting his career, Toal did detail how family inspired him. 

He said: "My cousin started playing and then I think I just went down with him, there was nothing that inspired me.

"Playing through Ulverston, my uncle Martin, he was a big inspiration, I enjoyed playing with him."

After this inspiration, Toal began his career in the local Rugby League scene, and in the latest episode of the series, he discussed his progress. 

He said: "I started for Ulverston when I was 16 years old, played all the way through juniors, and then I went on to play open age at Ulverston when I was 16, but as I was playing for Ulverston on a Saturday, I was playing under-18s for Barrow Island on a Sunday. 

After initially rejecting the Raiders' advances, the now stalwart of the club built up his experience at familiar Ulverston before taking the step up.

He said: "I got asked to sign down here but I did not think I was ready so I went back to Ulverston and I played there for another three or four years and then came down here and I have been here for 12 years now."

Alongside winning the league for the Raiders, Toal picked out his favourite memory from his 12 years playing for the club. 

He said: "For Barrow, when we won the league cup probably, mainly because of the way we won it, we made a bit of a mess of it after half-time, and in the last 15, 20 minutes we scored three tries and came back to win so that was up there ."