Championship preview: North Wales v Barrow (Sun 2.30pm)

North Wales Crusaders forward Jono Smith is battling to be fit for Sunday’s Kingstone Press Championship opener against Barrow Raiders.

Smith has a knee problem and will be assessed by coach Clive Griffiths before a final decision is made on his availability.

Griffiths said: “The hard part will be picking a team to start against Barrow. Now it gets serious and we’re looking forward to the start.”

Barrow are set to be without Aaron Lloyd, who broke his hand in last week’s friendly win against BARLA Great Britain, and Chris Rowe, who has also suffered the same injury.

But Raiders coach Anthony Murray still has plenty of choices to make, with players across his squad impressing during last week’s convincing victory.

Murray said: “I’ve got a massive (selection) headache for this first game, but it’s nice to be in that position.”