Cumbria ARL are hoping to make their mark on the County Championship this season - starting on Sunday.

Both the open age and under-19 squads will head to Thatto Heath to take on Lancashire this weekend, with their hosts on top form, having already beaten Yorkshire in the opening fixtures.

But coach Gary Hewer is confident his side can pull out all the stops and challenge for the title.

“We have been preparing for the last six or seven weeks for the County Championship,” said Hewer.

“The teams we have picked have come through the selection process, with a game between West Cumbria and Barrow and we have a large squad that has been whittled down for this event.

“We are now just looking forward to taking on the challenge.

“The first game is away and we know it will be difficult but but we are well-prepared.”

Hewer, and assistants Matthew Johnson and Lee Edmundson, will hold a final training session tomorrow at Millom.

And he admitted it had been hard to pick a side to face Lancashire, with an abundance of talent in the area this year wanting to play for Cumbria.

“It has been a really tough job to reduce this squad because we had a lot of quality available,” said Hewer. “We have tried to reinvigorate the county representative squad this year because last year we struggled to get people to play.

“But this time we had 50 nominations from West Cumbria alone and it was a shame we could only play so many in the selection game.

“Next year we hope to have a pre-selection game within the areas so everyone gets a chance.

“We are trying to raise the standard, we have quality players and we want to get the best out of them and see them wear the Cumbria shirt with pride.

“Hopefully we will go out there and put a good show on.”

And there are added incentives for players in the County Championship with selection for national sides up for grabs and a proposed tour of the Southern Hemisphere also on the cards.

The following weekend, Cumbria will host Yorkshire at Lowca ARLFC in the final set of fixtures.

Cumbria open age squad: Russ Bolton, Liam Saunders, Tom Askew, Tom Hopkins, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Tyson (all Askam), sam Jones, Joe Mallinson, Ryan Clegg (Barrow Island), Johnathan Goulding, Jack Clark, Matt Skillen (Cockermouth), Bryan Ritchie, Gavin Martin, Clayton Sutton (Distington), James McDonald, Kieran Glenn, Matt Bewsher, Matty Henson, Lewis Beckwith, Marcus O’Brien (Egremont), Kevin Hoban, Jonathon Stoddart (Ellenborough), Gary Tierney (Glasson), Jordan Thompson (Hensingham), Lee Postlethwaite, Adam Kelly, Ethan Kelly (Millom), Adam Batty (Roose), Liam Wood (Seaton), Connor Saunders (Ulverston).

Cumbria U19s: Jonty Moore, Graham Dale, Marc Quinn (coaches), Keir Shepherd (Askam), Brandon Corrie, Jake Stockdale, Declan Rodgers, Aiden Wright, Danny Wright, Elliott Campbell (Barrow Island), Jonny Hutton (Ulverston), Tyler Batty, Ioan Hayes, Eddie Tyson (Dalton), Luke Harrison, Adam Ford (Walney), Frazer McNee, Pat Bennett, Jack Thompson (Egremont), Rhys Burr, Zac Olstrom (Ellenborough), Finn Barwise, Nick Maudling (Hensingham), Curtis Teare, Sam Curwen, Jake Pearce, Andrew Bulman (Wath Brow).