Hunslet Hawks, one of the oldest clubs in rugby league, enjoyed most of their major successes before the Second World War.

Having been formed in 1883, the club were founding members of the Northern Union in 1895 and in the 1907-08 season Hunslet became the first side to win all four trophies at stake.

They beat League leaders Oldham 12-2 in a Championship final replay after drawing the first game 7-7, won the Challenge Cup by beating Hull 14-0, defeated Halifax 17-0 in the final of the Yorkshire Cup and finished nine points clear in the Yorkshire League.

Unfortunately after this outstanding season most of Hunslet's players left the club and it was not until the 1930s that they enjoyed their next and last golden age.

It kicked off with a Yorkshire League triumph in 1932, gathered pace with an 11-5 win over Widnes in the Challenge Cup final two years later and reached its peak in 1938 when they beat local rivals Leeds 8-2 in the Championship final at Elland Road in front of a then-world record crowd of 54,112.

Since then Hunslet fans have had little to shout about, although they did reach the 1965 Challenge Cup final, only to lose 20-16 to Wigan in a Wembley thriller.

The club appeared to be finished when their Parkside home was sold in 1972 and they were wound up a year later, but former player Geoff Gunney stepped in with a successful rescue package.

A grim period followed as they had difficulty finding a permanent home until they moved into the purpose-built South Leeds Stadium in 1995 and added Hawks to their name.

This appeared to be the dawn of a new era, as they went on to win the Northern Ford Premiership Grand Final in 1999, but they were cruelly denied promotion to Super League and have been struggling on and off the field ever since.