Barrow look to return to winning ways against Doncaster

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Barrow Raiders will be looking to get back to winning ways this Sunday after last week’s Cumbrian Derby draw, as they face Doncaster RLFC at the Matt Johnson Prestige Stadium.

Barrow led 20-6 at half-time against their Cumbrian rivals Workington Town with first-half tries coming from Jamie Dallimore, Adam Walne and Sam Dowsett.

Dallimore added a penalty goal at the start of the second-half but the visitors fought back to get themselves into a 24-22 lead before Dallimore stepped up again with another penalty goal.

Both sides then had their fair share of chances at a drop-goal to turn a draw into a win, but they both failed, and Workington became the first side this season to take points off the Raiders.

Barrow still remain in first and head coach Paul Crarey brought in former player Liam Harrison last week alongside former St Helens player Gary Wheeler to help cope with the injury crisis at the club. He’ll also be hoping that his side can start welcoming back some of them sidelined players in a bid to keep their unbeaten league run going.

Doncaster moved above Workington into second in the table last week with a 34-16 win over the Coventry Bears, despite trailing 10-0 at one stage.

The Bears started strongly and moved into a 10-point lead before Doncaster struck back with a try from Misi Taulapapa which was converted.

Coventry then made it 16-6 but it was the last points they scored, as Doncaster then ran in 28 unanswered points. With tries from Aaron York, Matty Beharrell, Jason Tali, Brandon Douglas and Tom Halliday doing the damage.

Richard Horne will need his side to start faster this week if they want to hand Barrow their first defeat of the season while Paul Crarey will be hoping his side can finish the game off this weekend and keep their unbeaten run going.

Head-to-Head

Barrow have an impressive record over Doncaster, winning four of the last five games between the two sides, with the other game ending up a 24-24 draw.

The most recent meeting between the two came in 2020 with Barrow the visitors that day. They managed to run out 32-22 winners thanks to a brace from prop Ryan Duffy.

Barrow last played Doncaster at home in league action in 2017, where Jamie Dallimore scored 10 of his side’s points, as they scraped past the away side with a 14-1o victory.

Players to Watch

This game could again evolve around the battle of the half-backs, with experienced players in Jamie Dallimore and Matty Beharrell going up against one another.

Since joining Barrow, Dallimore has always had a big say in this fixture, and it would be no surprise to see him get involved again after he saved his side from defeat last weekend with a 100% goal-kicking record.

Beharrell also has a history of playing well in this fixture, and he showed in his game against Coventry last week, that he is in form, adding a try to go alongside his five conversions.

The battle in the middle of the pitch could also be another area where the game could be won or lost, with Ryan Duffy scoring a double last time the sides met.

His opposition in Brandon Taylor also scored that day alongside centre Jason Tali, and they were both on the scoresheet last weekend when they faced Coventry.

Carl Forster will also play big minutes for Barrow, and these players could set the game up so the likes of Dallimore and Beharrell can play out from the back.

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