John Kear's troops will be hot favourites going in to their Fifth Round clash at Craven Park against Dave Clark's men.

But former Widnes Vikings man Blanch insists Wakefield will have full respect for their Raiders, and has first hand experience of a cup shock when he was part of the Vikings side that defeated Wigan Warriors in the prestigious competition last season.

"At Widnes last year we had a good win against Wigan which was a big thing, and I think a lot of people in the media have said it's an easy game for us, but I don't think by any means it will be," he told Express Sport.

"They're going to be up for it just as much as us and hopefully our fitness levels and skill factors can get us up there.

"We haven't had any days off or any easy sessions, it's all been tough. John's prepared us well and we're treating it as a normal game and giving them the respect they deserve.

"They (Barrow) probably weren't expecting to get where they are, it's good for a National League Two Team to get that far, a lot of National League One teams, and Super League teams are already out and I'm sure they're really looking forward to it."

Wildcats can stretch their impressive winning run to six matches should they progress to the quarter-finals of the competition with victory on Sunday afternoon.

And the 24-year-old has yet to taste defeat in the famous red, white and blue, featuring just twice for the 'Cats since returning from a shoulder injury which kept him out of the opening 11 rounds of Super League XIII.

He admits that confidence is the camp is high, and that he'll be hoping his impressive form, which included two tries in the 54-16 demolition of his former club Castleford Tigers will help him keep his place in the team, despite the imminent arrival of winger Matt Petersen to the squad.

Blanch has played against Petersen in a reserve grade game in the NRL, and admits that competition for places at Belle Vue can only be a good thing for the squad, and the players as individuals, following the injury crisis at the start of the campaign.

He continued: "We're playing some good football at the moment and I was fortunate enough to come back in to a winning squad which is always easier.

"I'm just looking to play some good footy myself and cement my spot in the team which is hard when you're coming back in a winning side.

"I don't really feel my injury that much anymore, I was a bit hesitant in the first game because after a big operation its always going to be a bit wary but it's good, fitness is getting back up there.

"You can all your training during the week that you want but nothing beats match fitness which is what I'm hoping to pick up in the next few weeks.

John mentioned it to us the other day about bringing new players in and said that there's no point buying players when you're on a down, and that to buy players when you're on the way up is how you progress, not just as a team but as a club, and with the franchise system, to have such good players like Matt Petersen and the others who've already signed for a few years, I think that puts us in good stead.

"Competition for places is good, all it can do is good for the players, it can't do any harm for the team and it just makes people play well."

For all the latest Wakefield Wildcats news, and the rest of the sporting news from around the region, see this Friday's Wakefield Express Sport.