In 1886, the club moved to Valley Parade, a ground that was hacked out of a hillside over a few months.

After the 1890-91 season, Manningham along with other Yorkshire Senior clubs Batley, Bradford, Brighouse, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull, Hunslet, Leeds, Liversedge and Wakefield decided that they wanted their own county league starting in 1891 along the lines of a similar competition that had been played in Lancashire.

In the new competition's first season, Manningham finished on top of the ladder, becoming history's first rugby league champions.

[2] In the 1896-7 season the Northern Union's championship was split into two separate county competitions with Manningham competing in the Yorkshire division.

The club performed strongly again and almost won the Yorkshire Senior Competition but in the end fell short on the table by just one win.