Season 1929/30

Performances of Sid Denton who played consistently well in a struggling team

Financial worries were becoming acute, as rotten weather, poor performances and general deprivation in the town contributed to significantly reduced gate receipts.  This was hardly surprising given that malnutrition was being widely reported in Featherstone schools.    In a home game against Bradford in April gate receipts totalled 30 shillings believed to be the lowest ever in the rugby league at the time.  Consequently the reserve team was disbanded in December and star scrum half Charlie Annable was transfer listed for purely financial reasons. 

Rovers didn’t win their first game until the seventh match and a ten match losing run in January and February resulted in a lowly league finish.  Rovers did though pull off a notable league double over challenge cup winners Widnes.  Defeat in the first round of the cup competitions didn’t help finances or the morale of the players or supporters.  More positively a crop of talented young players made their debuts notably a 17 year old Billy Stott, Ernie Winter, Fred Norbury and Percy Morris.  Annable remained one of the best halves around and the Dentons, Whittaker and Hirst were still quality players.  Veteran Joe Morgan again demonstrated his quality and took over the captaincy mid-season.