This.Balanced and not too hysterical. And that was long way away from some of the dross i watched in the 80s as a kid withan error count higher than tbe score.

The SL will never be close to the NRL though, any sane person has known that for years. It's like expecting the Championship in football to get to the level of the Premier League it isn't going to happen due to resources.

Regards international RL, i really don't see how it was any healthier in the 80's when there were still just the big 3 nations playing the game to any sort of reasonable standard and we were getting hammered by the Aussies up until the shock win in the 88 series.

Do you even watch it? The Rabbitos best performance last year was clearly Round 1, they were nearly perfect in terms of completion rates, passing and kicking accuracy, tackle percentage etc. showing some teams do peak in round 1
Obviously some improved over the course of last year (Cowboys Sharks) but others got worse (Rabbitos Knights)

Dont know about WCC games, some SL teams dont seem to wake up until Summer when the playing standard noticibly increases, but I do think they should be played in late October, when both teams are more likely to be on top form and I would think they would be closer

Top thread this.

Bring back winter rugby, NRL is da bestest, biscuit legs, Leeds only won due to poor opposition, SL killed the game, summer rugby killed the game, why oh why can't life be like it was when I was 25 and everything was better, Sky killed the game, Southstand is full of horrible young people enjoying themselves....

Sorry if I missed any, i'm sure he'll fill in the gaps in due course.

Someone wake us up when he's spat his dummy and left the forum.... again....... for good..... again. Thanks.

You are only focusing on results there.
What about Kangaroo Tours?
Kiwi Tours?
GB Tours?
All played "during RL seasons" and not sidelined as mere end-of-season afterthoughts?
Have we got around to organising 2016 4N ticket sales and venues yet?
When was the last time we toured NZ for a 3 Test series?
When was the last time we played PNG in Goroka, Mount Hagen or Port Moresby?
International RL is an irrelevance today and no amount of RLWC legacy propaganda will alter that.
It used to be eagerly anticipated.
Today, it is seen as getting in the way.
The RFL blame the Aussies but are only interested in staging series at home.

Only Jeff wants to return to winter rugby.

There are a growing number of posters on here are seeing the standards for what they are. SL sides have played 6 games against NRL teams in the last two years with all the advantages in SL's favour and we have lost every game Surely that tells even you there is a gulf in the standards?

I personally believed Sky saved the game and have impacted it positively - playing in the summer has improved the standard on the field - it was pretty dire before.

The standards have dropped off alarmingly in the past 3 years - this has coincided with the increase in revenues in Australia and our inability to attracted both playing and coaching talent from down under.

Sal, when are all the key games played during your wonderful summer season?

I'll give you a clue... none are played during the summer months

SL exists as a buttplug for Sky Sports schedules during the soccer off-season. That's its only meaning and the real reason for its existence. The rest is propaganda.

Cricket and Tennis are summer sports.

The numerous footy codes are not.

Ask yourself this question... If playing during the summer is so beneficial, why aren't the other footy codes doing the same?

We all know the game was broke in 95 and was desperate for Murdoch's £87m and willing to change 100 years of playing in winter to get it.

The game is dependent on SKY money and never likely to do anything that might jeopardise it.

International RL might be almost non existent now compared with before 1995 but the England team is now almost as competitive as it was in 88-95 so things are slightly better than they were 1997-2012. That competitiveness is of course mainly down to players becoming better from moving to the NRL.

Agree with almost everything you've said above apart from the international competitiveness element. We were beating New Zealand home AND away circa 88-95 and quite convincingly. I wouldn't fancy our chances against them away from home right now, but as we no longer tour NZ (unless it's a one-off game as part of a 3N/4N) and prefer to play them in home series only, I guess it's currently unprovable.

I loved the Lions/Kangaroo's tours as much as the next bloke William. In fact, i reckon you would struggle to find a poster on here who watched the game pre SL who wouldn't want a return to that format of internationals and for it to be the pinnacle of RL. You don't have to preach to the converted, who is to blame for it's demise? don't ask me, but i can only go off of results and the reality of what we have today as an international scene.

Away from home against a full strength Kiwi outfit now I wouldn't fancy us either but we've come close in recent years. The last time we played them it would've been a draw but for us going for a try and the win.

Looking at the results 88-95 our away results versus the Kiwis were very close games indeed. The only convincing wins were at home and the only easy series was in 1993.

From a development point of view training and playing in the 'summer' months is much more preferable and conducive to skill development at junior and youth level. Training on a 20x20 divot ridden pitch under poor floodlighting when it's 2 degrees is quite the opposite of the conditions experienced in Australian amateur rugby. Playing standards are always much improved in better weather conditions at all levels of the game and I'm sure this will be seen as the SL season moves on.

Could you be more specific.

Which months are the playing standards much improved according to weather conditions?

Why haven't other footy codes latched on to this alleged summer development and increased playing standards bonanza?

Why is our game still crap and a zillion miles behind the Aussies?

Finally, when you mentioned 2 degrees, poor floodlights and divot ridden pitches, were you also humming along to the Hovis Bread theme tune at the same time?

You are just being awkward. His point is clear and accurate. Do you seriously expect an answer to the question about other codes?
And there are numerous reasons for the gap between NRL and SL but the obvious answers dont seem to sit well with you: cash and player pool.