A 28-14 defeat at Batley Bulldogs has condemned Whitehaven to League One next season as they go into the last game two points and a 244 points scoring differential behind Swinton.
It has been a brave effort to stay in the Championship with a depleted squad and well publicised financial problems.
But once the final game at home to Halifax is out of the way, the big questions have to be tackled ahead of next season.
How do they guarantee financial stability, who will be the coach and where are the players going to come from – and those are just for starters.
They had gone into the game at Mount Pleasant with just two substitutes in Sam Ackroyd and Barrow-bound Ryan King, so once again had to do it tough.
Interim head coach Kyle Amor said: “The lads tried their absolute best but with just 15 players it just isn’t sustainable at this level.
“But I have nothing but admiration for this group of players who have earned respect, not just from the people of Whitehaven, but from all over the Championship where we’ve played.
“We haven’t been able to stay up but we are just one game away from completing our fixtures and when we started we hadn’t any players there was a doubt about that.
“The club has to learn lessons and prepare for a couple of seasons in League One and get the business right, and cut cloth accordingly, as well as get the recruitment right.”
Whitehaven had actually scored first when Edene Gebbie picked up a loose ball and raced the length of the field to score, with Lachlan Hanneghan adding the conversion.
But Batley were soon level with a try from Brandon Moore which Josh Woods converted and by half-time they had pulled away to a 16-6 lead. Dane Manning and Ben White went over for tries, one converted by Woods.
Kieran Buchanan put Batley on the board with an unconverted try early in the second-half before battling Haven scored two unconverted tries in quick succession from Owen McCarron and Joey Romeo.
A remarkable recovery wasn’t on was it? No, Woods settled Batley nerves with a penalty and right at the end Nyle Flynn crossed for the final try and this time Luke Hooley goaled.
