Barrow Raiders have had a change of scene for their girls' training sessions, having moved from their Craven Park ground to Hoops Basketball Centre across town to cope with the falling temperatures.

Since the start of last month, training has begun indoors at 12pm in order to help the girls develop their skills in dry (and warm-ish) conditions and that has allowed the numbers attending to remain at a good level.

But if they really do fancy playing on the grass, things move outside at 1pm where those who want to can stay around for another hour.

While the amount involved has dropped slightly from the summer, there is still plenty of interest from the girls in getting their weekly rugby league fix through the winter.

It has been a big year for the women's side sport in the town, with Barrow Ladies reaching the Women's Championship play-off final against Warrington and gracing the stage at Craven Park for the first time in their run to that.

Raiders community liaison officer Siona Hartley has been running the sessions, with help from some of the girls' parents, while Papua New Guinea internationals Stargroth Amean and Wartovo are back with their families.

She believes there is a lot more to come, saying: "I think we're at the start of something really exciting.

"We've got Barrow Ladies, who come down and support us. Their coach, Simon Woodend, came a few weeks ago and invited some of the older girls to go train with them on a Tuesday.

"We've now got that pathway where some of the older ones can actually start training with Barrow Ladies, which is what I wanted, and the next stage is to get the local clubs on board, so that they may consider running teams for girls between the ages of 12-16.

"We've got these sessions, which are based on fun and skill development and small-sided games and then you've got the clubs who we're hoping will introduce teams for girls and then you've got Barrow Ladies, who I think soon will be a Super League team.

"Therefore, I think girls' rugby, whether it be they want to be competitive or they just want to play for fun - because I try to offer both elements to girls - I think it's going to be massive, I'm absolutely convinced.

"I teach a lot in schools, I'm a PE teacher or 20 years' experience and I know that girls enjoy rugby when they get to play it in a fun, engaging way, so I know that there are plenty of girls out there who would enjoy this."