Shane Toal and Matt Costello both made it to landmark appearances for Barrow Raiders last weekend.

The two stars came out for Raiders for the 150th and 100th time respectively in the defeat against Doncaster on Sunday.

This saw Raiders edged out in a topsy-turvy contest at the Keepmoat Stadium, with Doncaster eventually coming away with a 37-30 victory.

Toal, one of Barrow's wing players, discussed the defeat by saying: "I thought we had a really good dig there, to be honest, and with about ten minutes left, we were four points up - we looked quite confident for the lead as well.

"They were quite tired, the heat was taking it out of them, but we were just unlucky at the end there - we conceded a kick after defending it, and we just couldn't get back into it unfortunately."

For Toal, the games at the moment are all about getting back to match fitness after a recent spell on the sidelines.

"It's good to get back personally. I get a bit bored when you're injured, you're not with the lads, you're kind of on your own doing your recovery, so it's good to be back on the field and be around the lads again."

Following the defeat, Raiders centre Costello believed that it was a result that was not fitting of the performance.

He said: "We were on the end of a few bad decisions, especially in the corners.

"We worked hard though - we've turned a corner massively since York gave us a good seeing to a few weeks ago, it's a massive improvement so that's good to see.

"We just still need to get some wins."

Despite the score line, Costello argued that there was still plenty to look back on positively.

"We grafted hard, it was a hot day, and we were short on numbers this week because we only had 21 players to name from.

"And everyone's come here and put their best foot forward, so there were no errors in terms of effort, we just need to tidy a few things up."

It has not been the smoothest period for Raiders as of late, with Head Coach Paul Crarey urging fans to stick with the side, but a change in tactics might be the key to success according to Costello.

He added: "We simplified our game plan, there was a lot of space on this pitch and they defend a little bit tighter, so we swung the ball about a bit and scored some good points."

Raiders will return to more familiar pastures this weekend when they take on Bradford Bulls at the Northern Competitions Stadium on Sunday, August 4.