PAUL Crarey will hope to avoid anymore sleepless nights in the build-up to Barrow Raiders' Kingstone Press League One play-off final at home to Whitehaven this Sunday.

The Raiders head coach was kept awake pondering selection issues ahead of last weekend's semi-final caused by Nathan Mossop failing a fitness test, and Martin Aspinwall and Bradd Crellin being laid low by illness.

In the end though, Crarey need not have worried as Barrow came through against Newcastle Thunder with a comfortable 60-0 win – a score which surpassed his expectations.

"We've had a lot of adversity thrown at us and even before the game, I probably didn't sleep the night before," said Crarey.

"I was trying to find out about Martin Aspinwall and Bradd Crellin in the morning, we lost our back row before and lost Danny Morrow during the game, and he looks like he'll be out for the final, and jiggled everything around and still managed to get a massive, massive win.

"To put a score like that on was unbelievable; I didn't see it coming, but I knew all week the players were up for it."

Hooker Mossop will undergo a further examination at training tonight to see how his recovery from an injury sustained in the final Super Eights game against Keighley Cougars is progressing, and could have a second injection.

Aspinwall and Crellin will be monitored as well as they recuperate from their illnesses, although Matty While and Brad Marwood both slotted in seamlessly on their return to the side.

It remains to be seen whether they have played their way into the squad for the final at Craven Park though.

"We'll pick our strongest side and that's what we've got to do, and it's only fair on the fans," said Crarey. "But the lads who came in against Newcastle, they were just sensational.

"We're just so happy to reach the final, it's all in our hands now whether we go up. It's a one-off game, anyone can win it, but we've done so much work to get to this point.

"I'm just so proud for the club to be in the position of being one game away. We're not going to Toulouse, we're not going to Canada, we've got to try to do it in our own stadium in front of our own fans.

"It will be a massive day for Barrow rugby league and big week for us as a club."