Featherstone Rovers head into tomorrow's Coral Challenge Cup fourth round tie against Barrow Raiders with a 100 per cent record in the league so far and they’ll be hoping to keep that going as they look to avenge last year’s defeat to their visitors.
The last time the two teams met, it was Barrow who proved victors with a superb 38-16 win over the Rovers after Luke Cresswell scored a sensational hat-trick against the Post Office Road outfit.
Times have changed for Fev since then, though. They have a new coach in James Webster, who has had stints at Super League clubs Wakefield and Hull KR, and with him during pre-season, he brought some new faces with him.
The most notable additions to their squad have been former Leeds Rhinos and England international Brett Ferres and Craig Hall, who has followed his coach from Hull KR.
Ferres put an end to his three-season stint with the Rhinos, and subsequently his 14-year stay in the Super League. Hall on the other hand ended his second permanent spell with the Robins after only one season with the club.
Other new faces at Featherstone also include ex-Raiders in Alec Susino and Dean Parata, who have both played their part in the strong start to the campaign and with the experienced half-back Dane Chisholm still orchestrating the team around the pitch, they can be dangerous from all angles.
So far this season, Rovers have pulled off a convincing win against Batley Bulldogs, before backing it up with a brilliant display over the Bradford Bulls to leave themselves sitting fourth in the Betfred Championship, although we are still in the early days of the campaign.
After last year’s epic in round five against Bradford, where they were beaten by a single point, they will be looking to go that bit further this year despite the fact it will be anything but a breeze for them as Barrow will aim to spoil their perfect start to the campaign.
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