There's no doubt that 2013 was a good season for YMCA, but it could very well have been a truly historic one as they fell in the home straight while chasing the treble.
The Claremont Road side were unstoppable at youth level winning a clutch of under-age trophies including two All Ireland's.
At senior level the cup won the RSA Leinster Senior Cup convincingly with a 79 run win against Pembroke, thanks to a 136 run partnership between Jeremy Bray (130*) and Trent Johnston (62).
There was disappointment as they exited the Irish Senior Cup at the semi final stage to eventual winners Clontarf, and they didn't make it out of the group stages in the Alan Murray T20 tournament.
In league action they lost their last two games to finish third behind The Hills and Merrion, winning 9 and losing 5 of their 14 matches.
In total they used 19 players - 14 of whom played 10 times or more suggesting a fairly settled line-up despite injury and availability problems with international commitments.
The team scored 25 half centuries and just the three hundreds - Bray, Strydom and their player of the year - Simmi Singh.
All three featured in the top 10 in the LCU aggregate list, with skipper Albert van der Merwe (12th) - promoted to opener after Reinhardt Strydom's fractured finger.
Jeremy Bray scored 673 at 51.77, followed by Simmi Singh 658 at 38.71, and Strydom 613 at 55.73. Van Der Merwe made 546 at 36.40, with useful contributions from Alan Lewis 344 at 31.27, Jack Tector 290 at 16.11 and Trent Johnston 254 at 36.29.
Singh topped not only the YM but also the LCU bowling charts with his 48 wickets at 14.83, while Yaqoob Ali's haul of 33 at 15.88 was good enough for third spot.
Robbie Garth made the top 20 with his 21 wickets at 19.33, while the others in double figures were Albert van der Merwe (18 at 33.11), Trent Johnston (12 at 16.67), Jeremy Bray (10 at 30.20) and Reinhardt Strydom (10 at 42.90).
On the fielding stakes, there were 16 dismissals for Cassidy and 10 for Lee Cole. Simmi Singh's all-round season continued as he took 19 catches, while Jack Tector (14) and Albert van der Merwe (13) also caught most things that came their way.
Van der Merwe accepted that on the whole it had been a decent campaign for the club saying: "The 2013 season would probably go down as one of YMCA's best season in the last decade. Three quarters through the season we were still very much in contention in three competitions.
"We were leading the league with two games to go, an All Ireland semi final to play and a place booked in the RSA Senior Cup final. It would be fair to say that looking at that, we are slightly dissapointed that we could only bring back one piece of silverware in the Senior Cup.
"The Division One league is unbelievably competitive and this year it proved a bridge to far, running out of steam in the crunch game at Milverton, when The Hills took the honours and the title, and rightly so.
"It was great that we got to the semi finals of the All Ireland, our best campaign in the clubs history in this competition. We were beaten by a better Clontarf side on the day and it underlines the strength and depth througout the clubs in Leinster, that there are so many clubs that are serious contenders for the showcase competition in Ireland.
"We used the T20 campaign to blood some of our youngsters that are lurking on the fringes and this will undoubtedly stand them in good stead going forward. We had a good mix between youth and experience this year. With unavailability due to international commitment, injuries, work and studies, we very rarely had a full deck to pick from, but this gave ample opportunity to younger players to stake a claim.
"Simmi Singh had a phenomenal all round year with bat and ball. He is a quality player and has really settled in this his second season at the club. Robert Garth made great strides, bowling some terrific spells in big games and will be a key player in leading the attack for us next year.
"Young players that broke through this year along with Lee Cole, who has been a regular in the last two seasons, are JJ Cassidy, Aaron Bailey,Jack Tector and Bobby Gamble. These guys were thrown in the deep end and with all of them still under 18, it bodes well for the future.
"The experienced players had a good season and there were plenty of runs from Reinhardt Strydom, Jeremy Bray, myself, Alan Lewis and Trent Johnston. Yaqoob Ali Shah again proved a very underated spinner and was one of our most succesful bowlers.
"All in all a very good season, but over the course of the winter I'm sure there will be the odd discussion over "what might have been."
BATTING
- Jeremy Bray 673 runs at 51.77
- Simmi Singh 658 at 38.71
- Reinhardt Strydom 613 at 55.73
- Albert van der Merwe 546 at 36.40
- Alan Lewis 344 at 31.27
- Jack Tector 290 at 16.11
- Trent Johnston 254 at 36.29
BOWLING
- Simmi Singh 48 wkts at 14.83
- Yaqoob Ali 33 at 15.88
- Robbie Garth 21 at 19.33
- Albert van der Merwe 18 at 33.11
- Trent Johnston 12 at 16.67
- Jeremy Bray 10 at 30.20
- Reinhardt Strydom 10 at 42.90
FIELDING
- Simmi Singh 19
- JJ Cassidy 16
- Jack Tector 14
- Albert van der Merwe 13
- Lee Cole 10