PAUL Crarey was pleased to see Jake Spedding come to the fore in Barrow Raiders’ win over Batley Bulldogs after revealing the three-quarter had been the target of social media critics.

St Helens youth product Spedding enjoyed a competitive Raiders debut to remember at Mount Pleasant, running in two first-half tries to help the visitors on their way to a 22-18 win and ending a run of eight straight losses away to the Yorkshire side.

The 22-year-old has impressed Crarey with the improvements he has made since a mixed debut in the 24-10 pre-season defeat to Oldham and the Raiders head coach was delighted to see him answer those who had questioned him.

“He got a little bit of stick, and people jump on social media and cane these lads for not being good enough – and that’s some of our own supporters,” said Crarey.

“It’s not right and we’ve got to be positive in everything we do, and feed off the positives rather than the negatives.

“The kid didn’t play well in his first game – he was probably a bit nervous or tentative – but since then he’s been outstanding. Against Batley, he was brilliant on the edge.”

It was his attacking efforts which caught the eye at Batley, but Spedding showed the defensive side of his game too by coming up with an interception which led to him breaking clear for his first try and when he halted a dangerous Batley attack in the closing stages by forcing Louis Jouffret into touch.

Crarey hopes Spedding can eventually follow the likes of Joe Bullock, who earned widespread praise for his display on his Wigan Warriors debut last Thursday, back into Super League after finding it hard to make the breakthrough in the full-time game early on in his career.

“He’s a talent and it’s very difficult at these top Super League clubs to break in,” said Crarey. “We saw on Thursday night against Wigan, St Helens’ outside backs are outstanding.

“He’s come here for a reason and that’s to get back up there. We saw Joe Bullock come here and he was a complete player when he played for Wigan – he was one of the best players on the field. That hasn’t been done in pre-season there, he’s been made in Barrow.

“Chris Hankinson is another one and he was outstanding when he played against us, so hopefully Jake can be made in Barrow and we’ll push him back with our regards because they’re great kids.”

Certainly, those Raiders supporters who made the trip to Batley could not have failed to be impressed with the manner of the win and they could be clearly heard singing throughout the match, with Crarey quick to praise them for their unwavering support.

“I’d like to thank the Barrow support,” said Crarey. “They were absolutely brilliant, they shouted from the rooftops from minute one and they took us home on the 80th minute.

“Two busloads came down and they were absolutely brilliant.”