I'd feel an awful lot better if Burrow took the conversion kicks.... Zaks kicks have got increasingly worse!!

I agree in large part. I have no reason to think the top players of that era wouldn't be top players today and vice versa. Some would make it and some wouldn't, both ways.

The players are obviously much fitter, as you say that's down to the full time pro environment today.
I think the players are far, far bigger and the game is far tougher on the body than it was in the 80's & 90's. Now obviously that's mitigated to some degree by the conditioning the players receive but I still think each game is tougher and harder on the body than 20-30 years ago.
Again, this isn't meant as disrespecting the players of that era, just that the modern game is very different.
As for the skill aspect, it's obviously subjective, but I don't necessarily think the players of that era where any more skillfull than players today. Just that the game was very different. I think if you put Sinfield, McGuire & Burrow into the 80's/90's they'd be top players then as they are now. It can seem like players, especially halfbacks & centres where more skillfull then because they had much more time available to look up and see a gap, and defences were far less structured.

As mentioned, put Peacock, Graham etc in I'm sure they'd hold their own.

I'm not someone who thinks everything about the modern game is wonderful, I think it's often a bit boring to watch and the way it's played and refereed often leads to one-sided results. Which is a big problem for the international game. I'm coming around to the view of re-introducing "proper" scrums to try and open the game up a bit more and maybe provide another dimension to play. But I'm also not one who thinks everything about the past was wonderful either.
A top player then would, 99% of the time, be a top player now and vice versa.

Presumably you're referring to a lack of toughness on the part of the perpetrators. A great deal of toughness was often displayed by those running the ball at the headhunters.

jjb was my clear mom,it is great to see him back and playing so well after his disrupted season,i know that i am biased but we are a far more eager and energetic team when he is on the field,we are certainly going to need his input when the big games come around

big raps too for minchella and walters as they both played very well and certainly look like they deserve a squad place next season without a doubt
both smashing lads too when you meet them

I totally agree. I am optimistic for the playoffs because with both Burrow and JJB back and in form we have two players who are so crucial for Leeds. Both have the ability to lift their teammates with their work rate, energy and enthusiasm apart from their natural rugby skills. In Walters we have a youngster who looks to have been formed straight out of the JJB mould.

Unless you were there to witness the real 'Era of the biff' then your comments do not have substance. As has been stated by others todays game is more athletic but certainly not more skilled and with not any more individual pace. If you had been around in the 50's and 60's you would have seen real toughness on display from most teams.

The players were part time but fit. No SL player is tougher or fitter than the likes of Vince Karalius who Alex Murphy recalled used to run 6 miles from Widnes to St Helens to training and back two evenings a week. On his GB debut in the 2nd test in Brisbane in 1958 he had injured his back in the first half and couldn't stand up in the dressing room at half time. But GB had had several players injured including the captain and prop Alan Prescott who had broken his arm in the third minute but continued to play the whole match. On seeing this Karalius staggered out of the dressing room and moved from loose forward to replace stand-off Dave Bolton who had come off with a broken collarbone. He went on to play a viatal role in the test victory for GB and IMO would have been just as tough and skilled had he played in SL.

Or nearer to home take Jack Fairbank (father of Karl) a farmer by day who trained in the evenings but was built like a rock and was a ferocious tackler. Remember that these were the days where all played 80 minutes with no subs and the packs competed for the ball. For part of this period there were unlimited tackles too so defenders often had to keep tackling for many minutes at a time. Rugby League has always been a tough and skillful game so do not take for granted that the game is tougher or more skillful these days.