Kingstone Press League 1 Preview: Barrow Raiders v Hemel Stags
Looking back on the win over Oxford, Barrow Raiders coach Paul Crarey felt that his team should have showed better concentration in parts.
“We were probably a bit scratchy last week,” he said.
“Oxford started really well, then we took control and went 34 -10 up with about 10 minutes to go. We bombed a few chances and let in two late tries.
“We’ve got some new boys who have settled in pretty well. At times we were very good but probably our execution at the moment is letting us down.
“We’re trying to overplay and score off every play rather than being patient, so we’re looking to do that this week against Hemel.
“Southern teams are a tough contest. Hemel might not be as technical as we are but they never give up.
“It was tough down there so we are expecting it to be a difficult game. I think both sides are feeling effects of a physical league at the moment but we’ll prepare well and see how it goes.”
Centre Max Wiper and second rows Craig Briscoe and Andy Litherland won’t feature this week but Danny and Shane Toal and Adam Nicholson return.
Hemel Stags coach Troy Perkins said: “We’ve put two wins together now. It was difficult conditions on Sunday and it was a toss of the coin who was going to win the game but I thought we played reasonably well. We defended exceptionally well and I think we deserved our win.
“It’s going to be tough this Saturday. All the Northern teams are tough opposition. We’ve never been up there before, so it will be a new experience for us but we’ve got a bit more confidence than we had a couple of weeks ago.
“All the pressure is on them, so we’re just going to go up there and have a dig. If we can control the ball and defend like we have done in the last one and half games, then we’ll give ourselves a chance.”
“The majority of the players have played over the last few weeks and we’ll be putting out a similar team to the one last week, so we’re starting to get a bit of consistency.”
Wing Alex Anthony comes back into the squad this week.
