Fletcher and Broadbent make injury progress for Barrow

Broadbent and Fletcher have both been sidelined with knee injuries

Barrow Raiders head coach Nigel Wright says absentees Gary Broadbent and Richard Fletcher are making progress in their return from injury.

The pair, who suffered knee injuries, have missed several key matches including the Challenge Cup defeat at Wigan earlier this month.

"They're both not too far away," Wright told BBC Radio Cumbria.

"Fletcher has been back in training, we've got Ned [Catic] injured too but we're nearly at full health."

Second-row Fletcher, 30, suffered the knee injury in April's 48-12 defeat by Featherstone Rovers, while Broadbent, 34, has been out since the 43-25 win at Halifax earlier this month.

Meanwhile Raiders extended their winning league run to four matches with an 18-14 victory against Dewsbury on Saturday.

Raiders led 18-6 at the break, and survived a Rams offensive in the second-half to seal the win in blustery conditions, but Wright was disappointed with the first-half display.

"It was the most disappointed I've been at half-time this season since I've taken over, our performance first-half was abysmal," Wright added.

"Dewsbury were absolutely superb in the way they handled themselves, and the game meant a lot to them than it did to us.

"I spoke about character and what it would take to win the game especially with the elements in the second-half, and I think we showed that, the most pleasing thing was to hang in for a really hard-fought victory."