Former Wigan Warriors prop Joe Bullock believes his Barrow Raiders side will be fighting at the top of the Championship in 2026, after a poor 2025 season from the club.
Bullock moved to Cumbria half-way through 2025 after departing Salford Red Devils. He joined the Raiders, in what is his second stint at the club.
The 33-year-old made his name at the second tier side, playing there between 2014 and 2018, before he was picked up by the Warriors.
After 11 appearances in the season just gone, he and the squad firmly believe they will be challenging, after beginning their 2026 campaign in the best way possible.
Barrow recorded a 50-24 win over North Wales Crusaders, in one of three pre-season friendlies that took place over the weekend.
Bullock crossed for a try, and after being named Player of the Match, was interviewed, where he outlined those ambitions.
Reflecting on the game, and how it was a different challenge to the weekly training sessions, he said: “There’s nothing better than being out there and being in that environment and being in the situation which games put you in.
“I think we’ve learned a lot about ourselves as a team. Training is always structured and set up to help you improve in those better ways, but you’re put under pressure and you find yourself where you are as a team when you’re under pressure in a game.
“It was a good run out, and good to get the win. The biggest thing is that we’ve got plenty to work on and improve on, so that’s a big positive as well.”
Former Wigan Warriors man lays out Championship ambitions ahead of 2026
Barrow finished ninth in the Championship this year, meaning that, with the new structure of the second tier, they have a more favourable draw compared to others.
With that in mind, and the additions to the squad they have made, Bullock is confident his side will be competing with the likes of London and Oldham, who are favourites for the title.
“It’s important to look at what we are doing how we’re learning and improving,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of things that we can look at and improve from that, but we’ve got a real opportunity I think with the team that we’ve got and the way the Championship season is this year.
“There’s an opportunity for us to be really pushing at the top with the clubs that are in there. It’s important that we start the ball rolling really hard, and go from the off, but we need to make sure that we are tweaking all those final pieces and making sure we’re in the best position we can be for the start of the season.”
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Hear from our player of the match, @JoeBullock27, after his stand-out performance against the Crusaders 👏 pic.twitter.com/uiN9XJWpto
— Barrow Raiders (@BarrowRaiders) December 29, 2025
