BARROW Raiders pair Declan Hulme and Ryan Duffy have signed to stay with the club for their 2020 season.

They follow former Whitehaven prop forward Carl Forster, youngster Connor Terrill, Danny Morrow, homegrown talent Jake Carter, Nathan Mossop and Jordan Walne in having signed for Paul Crarey’s team as they look to bounce back into the Championship after being relegated to League One last term.

Barrow rugby director Andy Gaffney was thrilled with the news.

“It’s great to have Ryan back with us next season. He came back from injury at the back-end of the season,” Gaffney said.

“And I’m looking forward to seeing Ryan play for the Raiders next campaign after a good pre-season. He is a very strong runner and breaks the line very well. He is also a great tackler and will do very well for us next season.”

On Hulme re-signing, Gaffney added: “We missed Declan a lot through injury during the season.

“He is a very smart kid on the field and a good organiser. He had a good turn of pace and is a popular member of the squad. He has trained hard to make the last few games of the season. And he will have a great year next year and a key weapon in attack.”

Prior to joining the Raiders, Forster went out on a high with at the Recreation Ground, as he helped Whitehaven win promotion to the Betfred Championship and put a difficult spell as head coach at Rochdale Hornets behind him.

Forster departed Spotland after just one win in 10 games and will be coming up against them next year as the Hornets were relegated to League One alongside Barrow. Haven, meanwhile, have signed ex-Raiders men Glenn Riley and Tom Walker.