Its always a can of worms comparing era's. I enjoy the game as much this year as I did when I started watching (circa 1986) but it has certainly evolved. The one thing which has noticably changed is the speed of the game, a natural progression from the introduction of the 10m rule. Inevitably players skills have had to adapt to the new style of RL, and the traditional 'roles' of certain positions have been morphed into a generic all round player.

Add to that the switch to summer (and 'faster tracks' as Stevo would say) encouraging top of the surface rugby, full time professionalism enhancing players abilities and we now have much fitter, faster and harder players than ever before. By harder I don't mean how good they are in a brawl, I mean how much impact their bodies can take.

Not so sure if they're more skillful though. The last time we got anywhere near the Ozzies in a test series ('92 tour down under) we had guys like Schoey, Ellery, Edwards, Davies, Steadman, Platt, Gregory, Offiah etc, guys who were in touch with the old style of RL and had genuine skill in a particular role. Non of the above could start the game at loose forward, move to stand off then finish at hooker but that wasn't really necessary, which was suprising given there were only 2 subs back then.

Since the SL era, we have gone backwards at international level which to me suggests skill levels are not what they used to be. Sadly (for us - although I must admit it is fantastic to watch) the Australians have developed to the faster nature of the game whilst keeping some of the more traditional skills associated with the different roles

Not many modern games are won by teams playing purely on adrenalin and emotion, a lot more emphasis now on game plan and structure.

That I can agree with.

The thing I always remember from my youth watching Leeds in the late 70's/early 80's was the propensity for launching and scoring long distance tries.....brilliant to watch. Some famous international GB tries too through the 80's. It was different then. Today's game is all about taking few risks, field position and the lottery of a high kick into the corners. I still enjoy it...and Leeds still have recently had that inclination/tendency more than most to launch/score long distance tries 'off the cuff' (indeed it seems to be [itheir[/i game plan ). However, there's no doubt the skill levels have not generally kept pace with today's faster heavier impact game. Some games today can be very tedious with the relentess forward drives and an aimless kick. (Although I concede I might be conveniently forgetting some of the appalling scrum dominated matches in the depths of Winters past: maybe they should have switched to Summer a long time ago under the then existing rules.).

True....And no doubt we'll see that in all its desolate glory tomorrow.

With the majority of NRL games I watched earlier in the season when they were available free to air on Setanta mark 2 or whatever it was called I could literally fast forward through 75% of the game and miss very little except the repetitive, set for set, fault free, grind backwards and forwards in the middle third of the pitch. The other 25% will have come off the back of an occasional long range break or a penalty allowing for an attacking set.

Such is the direction the modern game has taken.

one of the reasons players from past eras had so much skill was that as kids all they did was play sports without the distractions todays kids have
i've 3 teens and altho they play a lot of sports they barely spend half as much time out as i did as a kid and some of their friends are out once a week if that
we used to play 20 aside games of football,rugby and cricket and it allowed you the chance to improve your skills as you played almost every day

I think you're right there tvoc, which despite the fact they're a bit of a mess I would be tempted to at least look at some kind of contested scrum so that possession isn't quite as vital as it is right now.

I wouldn't agree with that necessarily. There is a belief that players in days gone by had more skill than todays generation, I don't agree with that I just think the skills have changed. I'd agree it's not as good to watch but I think today's players in general are more skillfull. Kicking both long and short are a lot better, as is short passing and handling and defences are miles better than they used to be. It's just with the defences being so quick and so good it's much, much, much more difficult to find space. Just from watching the '78 Cup Final that was on recently I was amazed at how much space there was for attackers to run at. I think we under-estimate how good defences are these days and how difficult it is to put someone in for a try.

More boring? - Yes
Less skillfull? - No

..and maybe there arent enough "qualified" SL refs around, especially when one "goes missing " due to a possible combination of anger management problems and old ladies..

I have been a life long fan of Rugby. Having played both League and Union in the 50's and 60's and coached in the 80's & 90's. Since the late 50's I have actively supported Leeds and have been privileged to watch most of the greatest players throughout the game from 1959 through to the current SL era.

The move from part time pros to full time athletes has seen a big improvement in fitness and defensive and team skills. However IMO the individual attacking skills have not improved and may have gone backwards. In fact there are far fewer individually brilliant players now then in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. As has already been stated almost every team had very gifted half backs, creative centres, ball playing looseforwards & props and the game seemed faster and more entertaining.

But there were also periods of boring play when there was no limit on the number tackles. I remember when they first introduced a limit on the number of tackles and Roy Francis producing a fast offload game that was superb to watch.

I think SL has gone backwards over the last 3 or 4 years due in part to the accent on no risk defence. So the play is now so predictable and is becoming boring with the result in a drop in attendances. We are breeding all the players to be the same build with too much work in the gym building strength rather than speed and ball skills. There seems to be no place now for the slightly built back with great speed and a side step. Our are really all now 2nd row forwards without the ability to change the angle of run to draw or step the opposition and give their winger a clear run.

However I am still a big fan and happen to think this is just a phase we are going through. Some coach will come along and sweep the board with attacking rugby bring in the crowds and everyone will copy the new format.... I hope!