Last updated at 11:54, Thursday, 17 January 2013

Whitehaven face a stiff test of their defensive credentials in Sunday’s derby at Barrow, warned new scrum-half Cain Southernwood.

Cain Southernwood

The ex-Bradford Bulls prospect enjoyed an impressive debut in Haven’s 18-0 whitewash of Gateshead Thunder last weekend, when coach David Seeds praised the team’s solid defensive effort.

And Southernwood reckons another big performance in their second pre-season outing at Craven Park, against a Championship rival, will send out the right signals.

“Barrow will test our attitude. We kept Gateshead to nil, and if we defend well against Barrow we will be on the right track,” said the youngster, who left the field in the closing moments of the Thunder clash with a slight knock.

“It was a bit of a dead leg but I’m fine. It was just a precaution.”

Southernwood rated his debut as “steady” and believes there is more to come from him and the team on firmer surfaces in summer.

“I thought we went okay to start with, and we will get better the more games we play,” he said. “The weather held us back, or we could have scored 40 points.

“It’s about getting the little things right in the winter, and in the summer we can show more flair. We will surprise some teams.”

The youngster supplied the final pass to hooker Chris Smith for one of Haven’s three tries and believes he can work well with centre Scott McAvoy.

He said: “They were not my conditions, and if the ground had been a bit harder, I could have done more. But I enjoyed being out there with the boys, and having McAvoy as my centre.

“He was always there, always talking, and it’s good to have a centre you can rely on.”

Southernwood is set to face Liam Campbell despite the Raiders’ half-back leaving Craven Park on crutches after the 22-20 victory over BARLA Great Britain last weekend.

“Liam just has a dead leg. It’s nothing too serious,” said Barrow coach Darren Holt.

Raiders are still waiting for forwards Ruairi McGoff (knee), Jamie Butler (wrist) and Nathan Mossop (knee) to overcome problems which date to the start of pre-season.

Prop Andrew Dawson is also recovering from a knee wound picked up against Keighley Cougars in Barrow’s first friendly of the year.

First published at 11:41, Thursday, 17 January 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk