After that Boxing Day friendly and after all the hard work, Skirlaugh joined the Humberside League (now The Hull & District League) in the 1981/82 season as members of Division Four, twice finishing fourth. Due to a re-organization in the league structures, they found themselves in Division Two at the start of the 1983/84 campaign. At this point, Skirlaugh started to progress and took massive strides forward. An unbeaten fourteen-match league program saw them crowned Division Two “Champions” and the first of what was to become numerous cup successes. That first of many was The Terry Hall Cup as Ship Inn was defeated 40-22.

Another undefeated league season in 1984/85 saw the First Division Championship lifted, and they also made three appearances in the local cup finals. The Terry Hall Cup (57-22 versus Crooked Billet) was retained; The Transport Cup (8-4 versus Jesmond) was added whilst a first showing in the prestigious BOCM Cup Final ended in defeat by the odd point in twenty-seven to NEGAS.

Moving up to the elite Premier Division, it was a time of consolidation as three successive seventh-place finishes ensued, but The Humberside Championship was claimed in the 1988/89 season, just nine short years after the foundation of the Skirlaugh club. However, that success was achieved in dramatic fashion, as it was a three-way tie at the end of the season on twenty-two points. In the playoff for the title, Skirlaugh won 14-10 at NDLB (Hull Dockers) and then 22-16 at Mysons (East Hull).

Third and fourth-place finishes followed in the next two seasons, before another third in 1991/92, a season which put Skirlaugh into the national arena and focus. Skirlaugh reached the final of The BARLA National Cup, only to lose 27-08 to arch-local rivals Hull Dockers at Knowsley Road, St. Helens. This was to be the first of a record six appearances in the “Blue Riband” knock out competition of the then amateur game, as Skirlaugh became known as “The Cup Kings” in the mid-nineties and into the Millennium.

1992/93 saw Skirlaugh only muster a fifth-place league finish, but improved a year later to third place, but again in 1994/95 the Humberside Championship was brought back to the village as part of a notable double. The club lifted for the very first time The Yorkshire Cup with a thrilling 24-20 victory over holders Heworth at The Ryedale Stadium, York.

Skirlaugh went one better in the following 1995/96 season by claiming an unprecedented “Treble” which had never been achieved in the amateur game, of firstly retaining and lifting their own local league Championship secondly not only retaining their own County Yorkshire Cup but lifting the BARLA National Cup. The latter came with a thrilling 21-17 victory over Cumbrian “Giants” Ellenborough Rangers, to which this day is rated the greatest of all the finals, in which now Skirlaugh “legend” and Chairman of the Youth Section. The Skirlaugh Bulls Richard Gotts was awarded The Tom Keavenghy Man of the Match award. Front-row forward Dean Ralph became the BARLA “Player of the Year” on the back of the club’s successes and was a richly deserved award for the powerful international GB/BARLA front-row forward.

It was that prowess on the field and continual success that drove Skirlaugh to make a bid to join the National Conference League.

Prior to entry in Division Two of the National Conference League in the 1996/97 season, the summer of 1996 proved to be an intense time both on and off the field. Huge amounts of work were undertaken at the then B.P. Club at Saltend, now the Eastside Community Sports Centre but the most important step was amalgamating with the defunct Crown Malet Youth Section. Through the hard work of Kim Baish, Peter Anderson, and Kevin Dale, the formation of the Skirlaugh Bulls Youth Section, producing players so the future of the club could continue to grow and develop.

Skirlaugh finished runners up to Redhill (Castleford) in that inaugural season in The National Conference League, as record try-scorer Shaun Wyvill took The NCL Division Two Player of the Year, pipping fellow nominee Phil Crane. The club went one better the following season by lifting the first Division Championship, and becoming the first-ever side to gain successive promotions to the Premier Division, a status Skirlaugh still enjoy today.

Skirlaugh’s first two seasons in the Premier Division saw them runners up on both occasions, being narrowly ousted to the silverware by West Hull, but enjoyed the luxury of dominating the BARLA National Cup, with back-to-back victories in 1999 & 2000. The Copeland Stadium, Whitehaven in 1999 saw Wath Brow Hornets defeated 32-2 in a record-winning margin, which was a season present head coach Colin Brown was awarded the National Conference Player of the Year award. A year later in 2000 at The Boulevard in Hull, Skirlaugh overcame local rivals Ideal Isberg 36-30.

2000/01 saw a fifth-place finish, a season later fourth and again in 2003/04 Skirlaugh were again runners-up to Siddal. It was to be a season that ended in controversy as Skirlaugh was ordered to face West Hull on Challenge Cup Final day in a Playoff Final Eliminator, and unable to raise a side due to the annual pilgrimage to Wembley. That resulted in a £750 fine and a four-point deduction for the following season, which had an adverse effect on the club which struggled the following season. It was a campaign that saw a season-long fight against relegation, before finishing a respectable tenth, and ending the season with a fifth appearance in the final of the BARLA National Cup., at Blackpool. However, Wath Brow Hornets gained revenge for their 1999 defeat when running out 15-8 winners.

The following season (2005/06) Skirlaugh finished fifth in The Premier Division and returned to Blackpool for a record sixth National Cup Final appearance, and lifted the trophy for the fourth time when overcoming Leigh Miners Rangers 23-16. Phil Crane set a new benchmark when making a fifth appearance in the final and having four winners medals to his name.

Despite all their National Cup successes, Skirlaugh’s greatest achievement came in the 2006/07 season, as they finished runners up to Leigh Miners Rangers, who they went on to beat in The NCL Grand Final 8-6 in a classic contest at The Spotland Stadium, Rochdale, and become Conference Champions. Thus Skirlaugh became the first side to not finish in pole position and lift the title, the biggest prize in the amateur game. Following that Grand Final success Skirlaugh traveled to France the following September to contest The European Championship against Bias (Villeneuve), which they duly lifted with a 28-18 victory to complete a remarkable “Double”.

2007/08 & 2008/09 saw Skirlaugh at the top end of the amateur game finishing third on both occasions in the Premier Division, but having to look in at other’s successes. Trevor Penrose became BARLA Player of the Year, in the latter season.

However, after that, it has been a continual struggle to avoid the drop to Division One, none more so than in the 2012 season when it literally was a shootout when Leigh East visited Eastside with the winner condemning the other side to relegation. Skirlaugh ran out victors 26-24 with a penalty two minutes from time from center Jason Bell. Extra spice had been added to the contest as Leigh East failed to turn up seven days earlier for the scheduled fixture date. It is a source of great pride that Skirlaugh are the third longest members of the Premier Division, behind original members Leigh Miners Rangers & Wigan St. Patrick’s.

One goal that Skirlaugh has never achieved is to beat a professional side in the RFL Challenge Cup, having taken Swinton Lions to extra time (2002), narrowly losing at Whitehaven 12-6 |(1997), whilst playing Hunslet Haks (1996 & 1998), Workington Town (1999 & 2000), York City Knights (2003), Featherstone Rovers (2006), Widnes Vikings (2008), and finally Gloucester All Golds (2012).