The seasons following their championship win were difficult for the club on and off the field. By 1983, club finances were in a perilous state – a supporters’ fund was launched, saving the club and this combined with a better on field performance made for an optimistic period.
1987. Disaster struck the club – the condition of the stadium had deteriorated following years of underinvestment. Two floodlights were blown down in strong winds and had to be dismantled and the others removed to avoid further damage or injury.
September 1988 vandals set fire to the historic wooden stand – it was destroyed in minutes (and this after several costly improvements worth £25,000 to the facilities following the new safety standards required by the council following the Bradford City fire). The damage was estimated at £100,000, but the club also lost everything gathered over the past 113 years, programmes, records, and memorabilia.
Amazingly the club was able to fulfil its home fixture against Rochdale Hornets 2 weeks later following a superhuman effort by the officials, players, members, supporters, and staff of the club. Dewsbury won the match and the hearts of everyone there.
December 1988. Dewsbury parted company with coach Terry Crooks with Maurice Bamford coming in to replace him.
1988/89. The disappointing season on the pitch was credited to the uncertainty created by fire. Crowds also struggled with an average of 772 per home match – albeit this was higher than the two previous seasons.
1989/90. The season started with Dewsbury signing David Watkinson (Hull KR) on a free transfer but in January 1990, Marquis Charles left Dewsbury for Hull for £15,000. This financed the signing of Dean Hall for £10,000 from Bradford Northern in February.
Encouragingly, attendances were much improved – an average crowd of 1227 watched at the temporary stand at Crown Flatt, up from 772 the previous year. Dewsbury ended up 7th in the Second Division table having finished strongly; they earned the right to play in the play-off finals where they unexpectedly beat second placed Rochdale Hornets in the first round, only to be defeated in the semi-final by Hull KR.
December 1990. Dewsbury sacked Maurice Bamford and assistant coach Jack Addy took over.
14 April 1991. Dewsbury played their last home game at Crown Flatt against Barrow – ending 115 years of rugby being played on the ground. A temporary stand was erected at Crown Flatt but a full rebuild would be required. The club therefore decided to sell the Crown Flatt site and move to a new purpose build stadium at Owl Lane.
Dewsbury RLFC moved temporarily to Mount Pleasant, Batley RLFC – when the two clubs faced each other they were both at “home”.
1991/92. A Three Division structure was re-introduced as a result of “The Hetherington Plan” – Dewsbury would play in the third division at “home” at Mount Pleasant but had ambitions to progress up to the second division at the earliest opportunity. New signings Paul Delaney and Paul Worthy (from Leeds for £45,000) were indicative of this ambition.
November 1991. Kenyan Winger, Eddie Rombo joined Dewsbury, becoming an instant crowd favourite. He went on to score 22 tries in the 20 matches he appeared in that season, scoring 5 tries in one match (Dewsbury vs Highfield 1.3.1992).
26 December 1991. The biggest league attendance of the year for the 3rd division was at the traditional Boxing Day fixture; Batley vs Dewsbury when 4119 spectators watched a 16-16 draw.
With Jack Addy in charge and 26 players on the books, Dewsbury were the bookmakers favourites to clinch the league championship (and promotion) at the start of the season, although they would eventually finish 3rd in the league. This confidence saw improved attendances – 1108 average at the “new home”- slightly higher than third division average (1027).
It was an acrimonious season for Rugby League – yet more change was planned, as a decision to abandon three divisions and go to two was ratified. Rumours abound about the long-term future of some clubs – so much so that League Chairman, Bob Ashby, had to publicly deny the existence of a hit list of lower clubs.
1992 Dewsbury had a record-breaking season - Greg Pearce kicked a club record of 13 goals in a match in the win against Blackpool - a record previously shared by Jimmy Ledgard, Nigel Stephenson and Chris Wilkinson who had all kicked 10 goals. They twice broke the club’s highest score record with 78-2 win at Nottingham City and the 90-5 win at Blackpool Gladiators which was also a league record away win by any club.
July 1993. Planning permission was granted for a new purpose built stadium at Owl Lane.
1993/94. Norman Smith was in charge of Dewsbury, who, as a result of the league restructure, were now in the second division. They went on to finish 7th – a good result for the team, with Mark Conway finishing 4th in the leading scorers list for season (16 tries, 129 goals, 1 drop goal - a haul of 323 points).
Notably, Dewsbury were fined £500 by the RFL for refusing to play their traditional Boxing Day Second Division fixture at Mount Pleasant.
