DEAN Parata is well-placed to contribute both on and off the field at Barrow Raiders, according to head coach Paul Crarey.

The former Wests Tigers junior recently became the second Italy international to move to Raiders for the 2018 Kingstone Press Championship season, joining prop Alec Susino.

But along with providing competition for hookers Karl Ashall and Nathan Mossop, Parata will be doubling up in an off-field position at Craven Park as the club’s new commercial manager.

That will see the 26-year-old responsible for increasing Barrow’s sponsorship revenues and opening up other income streams, and head coach Crarey believes Parata is just the person needed to fill the role.

“He’s a very presentable young man, he’s smartly-dressed and he’s a great talker – and that’s what we need,” said Crarey. “We need paid employees if we are going to be sustainable in the Championship and we need to have a commercial manager who is out on the beat, so to speak, 24/7.

“We’ll put him on the ground out there and you can pay a lot of money for a commercial manager on their own, but it’s the package for us to bring him in as a player and the carrot of giving him a job as well.

“Then he’ll have to earn his money because it’s commission-based, and he’s keen and he’s said he can’t wait to get going. I think he’ll like the area because it’s very friendly.”

Parata has already given fans on these shores a glimpse of what he can do on the pitch when he featured for Italy in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, which included scoring a try in the Azzurri’s surprise 15-14 win over England in a pre- tournament warm-up match.

He was also understudy to Robbie Farah during his time in the youth system at NRL side Wests and has already impressed the coaching staff at Barrow with how he dealt with the sand dunes on Roanhead Beach during his first training session with his new team-mates.

Pre-season training has now moved more towards ball-work following the final hill session near the cenotaph in Barrow Park last Saturday, which will give Parata the opportunity to show the attacking and defensive ability which make him so highly-regarded by those Crarey has spoken to in Australia.

“We know a lot of people in the game over there and the mail on him is very good,” said Crarey.

“He’s very quick, he’s very fit and he’s a clean-living lad as well, and when he came over here, he went up the sand hills as if they weren’t there.

“He’s in great nick, he’s very conscientious about his rugby and he wants to get on.

“Hopefully it’s with us and we can retain him, but I think the fans will really like him.

“He’s a great support player and he’ll feed off the likes of Alec at rucks, and he might have to play in the halves a bit if people get injured.

“But as long as he can run the ball, he’ll be good and a lot of the coaches I’ve spoken to out there have nothing but praise for him.”