Barrow Raiders rugby director Andy Gaffney has revealed that negotiations with last season's squad as almost complete, after Bradd Crellin and Dan Toal became the latest two players to re-sign this week.

The Raiders have always been pleased the level of turnover in their squad after their relegation from the Betfred Championship, which hasn't been anywhere near as high as some of their supporters had feared.

Many of the players who have signed new contracts may feel like they have a point to prove, including Crellin and Toal, who both suffered injury-hit seasons this year, as did the likes of Nathan Mossop, Shane Toal, Declan Hulme and Ryan Duffy.

Important figures such as captain Martin Aspinwall, Jono Smith, Stargroth Amean, Wartovo Puara, Jarrad Stack and Jamie Dallimore are staying on, although Alec Susino, Lewis Charnock and Deon Cross are among those to have moved on.

Gaffney said: "There might be one more signing on from last year's squad, but the player involved has changed his job and it just depends on work commitments.

"We should know about that, one way of the other, in the next few weeks. We've already sorted the deal out, but it's just about whether he can commit to it or not, so we'll hear about that soon."

Raiders began pre-season training this morning, and Dan Toal was among their number after his recovery from the knee injury that blighted his 2019 campaign.

Gaffney said: "We got him a scan at the end of last season, which showed there was no real damage, other than some inflammation. He'll just have a cortisone injection to get rid of the swelling, but he is a lot better now."