What does the future hold for Rugby League in west Cumbria?

For the second year in a row, one of our local professional clubs lost out at the final hurdle in the quest for promotion back to the Championship.

Workington Town, in fact, had two chances at Bradford and Swinton but had to look back on two gallant failures – the second, against the Lions, not helped by the RFL’s decision to extend the season by a week.

In many ways, it was a game too far for the Derwent Park side, with several players having to turn out when far from fully fit.

Under the circumstances it was a remarkable effort, which really underlined the achievements of first-season coach Leon Pryce.

Town didn’t have a great side on paper. Now I know they don’t play on paper but, for them to get so close to promotion, suggests that the input of the coach was instrumental in their success. He helped forge a tremendous spirit which – as in every team sport – is absolutely crucial.

But if Town have made serious strides forward on the field, they have also produced significant progress off it to suggest they can go on better next year and regain their Championship place.

The club has been fortunate in having one or two big-hitters in the background who can come-up with a bob or two when it’s needed. But to be successful long-term, a club needs more than generous benefactors and Town appear to be building the right way.

I was told by an influential backer of the club in March this year that he expected Town to be in the black at the bank by the end of 2018.

Clearly those are solid foundations on which to build for the future. Regaining a Championship place has to be the target next season because life in League One can be suffocating.

Super League is still light years away, as even the prospect of a £15million stadium, does not really move things much nearer.

Town would share the new ground with Workington Reds but both clubs will have to be satisfied the deal is in their best interests, certainly with regard to making money from their own social events.

Getting Town into Super League would take much more than a new stadium. It would need a massive cash injection from a potential owner, someone like Dr Koukash who was linked with a possible new club for the area earlier in the season.

But for the moment it’s Derwent Park again for 2019, and with some solid recruitment over the next two months, Town should look forward with confidence to the season which lies ahead.

Up the road at the Recreation Ground it’s been a strange campaign and, in some ways, the success was in getting over the finishing line to complete the season.

Whitehaven were in financial difficulties, a takeover bid eventually fell flat and the club was put in special measures. Yet through all that, Carl Forster almost got the side to the play-offs again, losing out only on points differential.

His efforts in doing that, midst all that was going on, were probably deserving of even more praise than in 2017 when he won the Coach of the Year award for League One.

The two dramatic victories over Town, with last-gasp touchline conversions by Dan Abram, were the stuff of dreams for the Whitehaven faithful which will live long in the memory.

But it’s what happens behind the scenes which will ultimately tell how well Haven can respond to their financial problems and get them back on an even keel when they can compete for a promotion spot.

That might not happen immediately because prudent house-keeping should be the approach for a while after the financial deficiencies were exposed this year.

Happily, the club has been able to plug a few holes with the arrival on the board of a former lottery winner Jason Ball, who will provide more than largesse in the weeks that lie ahead.

Interestingly, too, another new director Andrew Canavan, a local property developer has been working with the RFL to try and lift the special measures which were imposed this year.

Perhaps the most hopeful comment came from chairman Tommy Todd when he said that a recent board meeting had been the best for two years with fresh ideas and plans being discussed for the future.

Under the circumstances, with a period of consolidation needed, Whitehaven have the right men at the helm following the departure of Forster to Rochdale Hornets.

Gary Charlton, not only played for all four Cumbrian clubs, but he has coached Workington Town.

He’s been there and done it, and with the excellent Jonty Gorley as his right-hand man and respected Whitehaven stalwart Scott McAvoy backing them up, is certainly up for the challenge.

With a good core of the squad re-signed, or already committed to 2019, Charlton will have a solid foundation on which to form a group for League One which should be capable of competing for a top five place.

He will be looking closely at the local scene, hoping to pick up two or three gems who can make the step up to League One.

Whitehaven showed it was possible last season even when under special measures. McAvoy put forward the name of one of his team-mates Jordan Thomson and it has proved a shrewd recommendation.

Charlton knows who can do what in local amateur rugby league circles and, with Whitehaven determined to land the best of local talent, it’s a long-term project which could reap fine dividends.

But what of the amateur game in west Cumbria, described by more than one veteran of the sport, as “dying on its feet” - can it recover its popularity?

Falling numbers participating and less clubs competing point to a problem. Is it the season – the switch to summer? I’m certainly one that feels it has been a factor.

Maryport, Flimby and Broughton Red Rose have all had to pull out of competitive rugby in the last two years.

Yet rugby union, solidly a winter sport, has had similar problems with falling numbers of players and teams. Greengarth have gone, along with Ambleside and a club as traditionally strong as Workington can only field a second team once a month.

The two going head-to-head again as a winter sport would create new problems, for these days, because of the seasonal difference, quite a number of players operate in both codes.

However, the summer season appears to be a continual headache for several clubs as weddings, stag weekends, music festivals and family holidays regularly interfere with team selections.

The modern-day amateur player does not, it appears, show the same commitment and dedication to the sport as their predecessors.

Ultimately, a weak amateur scene in this part of the world will have repercussions in the professional arena. Which is why Workington and Whitehaven have both to work more closely with the amateur clubs to invigorate the game as a whole and stimulate growth again.