BARROW Raiders head coach Paul Crarey is happy to kick start the 2025 Challenge Cup on home turf.

Raiders will start their cup campaign in the second round with a game at the Northern Competitions Stadium over the weekend of January 25/26.

They will be up against the winner of Crossfields v Maryport in the first round.

Speaking to the club’s official social media channels, Crarey said: “We’ve got a home draw which is a good start. We don’t know who we are going to play yet Crossfields or Maryport, our Cumbrian neighbours up the road.

“I don’t know how they will go. It’s a big ask for them to go to Crossfields and get a result, but we’ve got a home draw and that’s what we wanted.

“We had a bad run last year in away fixtures early on. We had to go to Whitehaven and Workington in the cups, so at least it’s a great start for us and great draw for us. So we are happy with that.”