BARROW RAIDERS hooker Josh Wood says competition for places will keep Paul Crarey’s squad on their toes as they target the top six.
With Aiden Doolan now on board, coach Crarey has three nines in the former Warrington Academy and South Sydney Rabbitohs second team player, ex-St Helens and Leigh man Aaron Smith and Wood, who joined from Wakefield in 2022 after starting his career at Salford.
The 29-year-old from Wigan returned from a hamstring injury to notch a try as Batley were beaten 40-16 in Cumbria.
The win followed a disappointing 48-12 loss at Featherstone, after which Crarey questioned his side’s work ethic.
And Wood explained: “The boys listened to what Cresta said and responded. They wanted to prove a point and I think they did.
“In hot weather, it was close to an 80-minute performance against difficult opponents, and we got on top in the grind thanks to our big, fit middles.
“The rest of the team contributed too, it was good to get back on track and I was pleased to be out there again.
“We have three hookers now and we all want to be in the side, and that’s the case throughout the squad.”
Barrow scored seven tries and Crarey appreciated both that attacking edge and the defensive effort.
“Batley never go away, and we had to put in some effort for that outcome,” he noted.
“I’d challenged my middles, and they were on it from minute one, and the others played their part in limiting them to the three tries.
“I thought Ryan Johnston had a great game in the halves alongside Alex Bishop, and the outside backs were fantastic.
“Shane Toal played out of his skin and on the other wing, Andrew Bulman had some important yardage carries.
“We mixed our attack up well, scoring tries from long and short, and we need to approach our next games in the same way.”