Second row Danny Morrow is hoping for an injury-free campaign when he begins his fifth season with Barrow Raiders next season after enduring a couple of frustrating years.

Morrow signed a new one-year contract with the Raiders last week, as head coach Paul Crarey kept faith with the Walney Central product despite his season being pockmarked by injuries.

In the end, they restricted him to just 14 appearances over the course of the campaign, as he was often left to watch on the sidelines during Barrow’s unsuccessful battle against relegation from the Betfred Championship.

Morrow is now one of several members of the 2019 squad who are confirmed as retained for next year, as the Raiders look to bounce straight back from League One.

“I never thought I’d get to this point, to be honest,” Morrow said. “Obviously, there have been a lot of high points in the last four years, like getting promotion in playing for two years in the Championship.

“We got a bit of silverware as well, but at times I have got quite low with the injury streak and anyone who plays the game at this level will tell you the most frustrating thing a rugby player can have is a long streak of injuries.

“I’m hoping for a successful year in 2020 and obviously an injury-free season.”

Morrow was far from the only Barrow player to suffer from injury as the Craven Park outfit were afflicted by an unprecedented epidemic of knocks almost throughout the season.

Those left were often being asked to play through the pain barrier, with the sadly short-lived mid-season renaissance giving an indication of what the Raiders were capable of with more players available to them.

Morrow said: “It was obviously a bitter pill to swallow, getting relegated.

“I think we lost our confidence with having such a long streak of losses and a constant stream of injuries, not just for myself but right across the board.

“We’ve been really unlucky with injuries this year, I think, and we had a glimpse of how we proved how we can play in the mid-season, with wins against Featherstone and Halifax.

“We couldn’t keep that consistency, obviously, because we couldn’t keep those healthy men across the board.”

Despite going through a tough year, the Raiders have managed to keep some key players, including Luke Cresswell, Jamie Dallimore, Stargroth Amean and Jordan Walne, amongst others.

“I think it’s important we keep the main structure of the side together,” Morrow said.

“Obviously, we were going to lose players who are early in their careers and are ambitious and want to play at Championship level and I wish them the best of luck.”