During the 1970 season, the club played 42 matches: of these, 34 were League, and Cup games, and the remainder were friendly matches. In the League, the Club finished in third place, two points behind the champions. Out of 28 League games, 16 were won, 8 were drawn and 4 were lost, whilst the Club managed to reach the semi-final of the Challenge Cup for the first time in its history. Of the eight friendly matches, four were won, two were drawn, and two were lost, but these defeats were at the hands of visiting teams whose standards were generally much higher than those of players of this area.

At the same time, the standard of play shown by our own team was markedly superior to that seen in previous years, and this success is largely due to the intensive training programme which has been supervised by the team captain. In this connection, the provision of adequate training facilities must remain a priority, and the erection of an indoor gymnasium or hall in which the players can practice on wet evenings is essential. It would do much to supplement the outdoor training being carried on, and would help the Club in the recruitment of younger players.

There are now 28 players registered with the Club, and many more have asked to join but have been discouraged by the fact that the Club fields only one team. With the improvement in the financial position, concerning which the Treasurer will report in a minute, I suggest that the Committee consider entering a team in the Second Division of the League.