Rochdale Hornets are one of the oldest rugby league clubs in the world, having been established in 1866, but they have only one Challenge Cup victory - in 1922 - to show for their long history.

One of the founder members of the Northern Union in 1895, they recorded their highest ever win when they beat Wakefield Trinity 64-0 in 1920 and two years later edged past Hull 10-9 in the Challenge Cup final at Headingley in Leeds.

They have been starved of success ever since, though. The closest the Hornets came to repeating that triumph was in 1947 and 1958, when they reached the Cup semi-finals, but on both occasions they were denied a Wembley appearance by Wigan.

The club hit hard times during the 1980s and 1990s, and they were forced to sell their Athletic Grounds home to a supermarket chain in 1987.

They moved to Spotlands to ground-share with the town's football club and were promoted to the top tier in 1989 when Hornets won the Second Division title.

It has been hard going since, though, none more so than in 1998, when Rochdale and English rugby league - suffered a double tragedy.

In October of that year Karl Marriott died from a heart attack following a training session and two months later Roy Powell died in similar circumstances.

Then in January 2009 shareholders voted to place Hornets in administration after they were served with a winding-up order by the Inland Revenue of a debt of over £55,000