PAUL Crarey is pleased to see Danny Morrow has made up for lost time at Barrow Raiders after his notable display against Widnes Vikings on Sunday.

The former Walney Central amateur missed part of pre-season due to holidays and was left out of the Raiders' first five matches of the 2019 Betfred Championship season while he got up to speed with the rest of the squad in training.

He was then thrust straight into the starting 13 in the second row for the visit of Widnes over the weekend, which allowed head coach Crarey to shift off-season signing Jordan Walne to loose forward in an effort to strengthen Barrow's middle.

Morrow, now in his fourth season playing for the Raiders, looked like he had hardly been away against the full-time Vikings and Crarey was impressed with how he acquitted himself having missed some of the team's preparation.

"At the start of the year, when we were doing pre-season, Danny went to Thailand and then went skiing, so we didn't want to throw him in without doing the work as a player," said Crarey.

"We've held him back, but he's trained the house down for five weeks and we unleashed him against Widnes, and he was outstanding.

"He's got that little bit of natural aggression and he's naturally quick and can play a natural edge, which releases Jordan to play middle."

Walne's shift to the number 13 role came due to Crarey wanting to exploit his attributes and continue his link in the middle of the park with fellow former Hull Kingston Rovers forward Josh Johnson.

The Barrow boss was pleased with how Walne performed in the 20-4 defeat to Widnes too, having shown his versatility in the pack since moving to Craven Park.

Morrow's return to action means Crarey now has a surfeit of options in the back row, with Bradd Crellin waiting in the wings, Dan Toal still to return from injury and Willie Minoga able to play there if needed too.

They may be required in the coming weeks if Martin Aspinwall is sidelined long-term after suffering an eyelid injury against Widnes, with the Raiders skipper already set to miss this Saturday's game at Toulouse Olympique.

"He's a great kid, Jordan, and he's probably not a natural back-rower, but he can play there as well as anyone," said Crarey.

"He's quick, strong; him and Josh Johnson are good friends and it's comfortable for them to play together.

"We've got Danny back now, Bradd Crellin is a good squad player for us as well and will probably have to come in for Martin."