Good to see all those negative, pre-SL stereotypes making a reappearance

And it wasn't even broadcast in standard definition.

It were worse that that!

And it was all in black and white.

Not a coloured pixel in sight back then.

Pah!

Pixels?

Sheer luxury!!

My rugby league was sent via t'pony express and when it were delivered we had to look at a black and white painting and imagine.

You had it delivered?

Luxury!

I had to get up an hour before I'd even had chance to go to bed and carry coal all the way from Pontefract before I could even think about collecting my rugby league fix.

And it weren't even always there to collect cos it were played in winter and frozen off.

I think the game has changed because of the recent generation of players and coaches. There are some rediculously daft things going on with rules and management of the game (completely agree about the VR, what the hell is that all about?) which aren't helping.
I don't doubt that kids are taught techniques make ch better and more often than they would have 30 years ago but they're not "skills" until you perfect them under pressure - and that means trying them during games when it matters. I bet all the SL players today could look fantastic against very weak or non existent opposition but as soon as the heat's on decision making and skills disappear. And why bother when 5 drives and a kick will get you from one end of the pitch to the other.

Some good skills on display in the MPG.

I have a friend who is 84 been watching the game since 1939 and halfway through last season he gave away his season ticket .He said the game has become like high speed human Bagatelle and can no longer follow the game .He said ive still got respect for the players and what they put in ,but its what the game has become

In fairness this could just be one of myriad reasons that almost all 84-year-olds may find for giving up on the game. I'd be surprised if I'm still watching at 84 - after all, few do = though whether it's down to health, cost, changed interests or changes to the game, who knows?

My 88 year old uncle was still watching until he passed away a few weeks ago. He was of the opinion that it was a different game now but each era had things that made it appeal to him.

When I chatted to him about the game he thought the 1954 cup final replay at Odsal in front of 100k was a good game but he thought many SL games this season were good too. But massively different.

I also knew Trevor Foster well and a few of his mates of the same age. They were of the same opinion. The game has changed. That's not necessarily good or bad. They all thought the players of the 40s and 50s would be stars nowadays. A few of them hated the SKY hype and bluster and watched matches on TV with the commentary turned down with the radio on instead but that was the extent of their dislike for the game really.

Were they? I got my info from rlhererl, which shows crowds were up last season and down, slightly. this season. Why you keep ranting on about 2012 every time someone mentions this & last season's attendances is beyond me. It's almost like you have some kind of weird agenda against the new format.

There's significantly more people discussing the game online these days but, like it or not, the bulk of them are choosing social media as their outlet.

I've no idea how those people can be tempted to use RLfans, maybe a bit of advertising or..... promoting the forums for free on social media might help!! Social media integration would also work. Giving people access to the boards by letting them login with FB or Twitter accounts would definitely increase usage.

The core of main posters on here are guys who started supporting/watching Leeds back in the 70's/80's or even earlier. Very few on here that started from 2000 onwards and that's the issue as it's showing RLFans to be an antiquated form of discussing the game online. Some will prefer this as they don't have much time/respect of the views of younger fans who were brought up in a different period/style of RL and are usually quite dismissive of them and thus why they're wanting the return of previous older posters but not questioning why we aren't getting newer posters.

Some older fans will drift away over time due to various reasons, for those of you who started watching in the 70's/80's who rip the game/club now I'm confident they'll have been fans who had been attending for 25-40 years when you were still new to the game giving it all the "the game isn't what it use to be", "it was better back in my day" etc.

The reality is that conditioning and skill development is way ahead of what it was in the 70s, if anybody genuinely believes that the part time beer swilling players of that era would on the whole compete with the players of the modern era they're kidding themselves.

Just watch videos from yesteryear, defences are dreadful, the contact allowed for a quicker more broken style of play, half backs had gaps a plenty to run at. And if anyone really wants a return to those 'scrums'...seriously?!?

What has spoiled the modern game is the rule changes and 'tactics' which have been employed. The current game is very far from perfect but I do think we've been spoilt for entertainment compared to the likes of football and Club rugby union.

I'd change the game to place a greater emphasis on athletic player and less on size and wrestling, remove some interchanges and subs and that would go a long way.

I've a player who's just signed for the U19s at Wakefield, he's the most gifted athlete I've seen at that age, Jason Robinson like abilities and very strong . However leeds and others wouldn't look at him due to his height, though they'd take on a back of 6ft without half his talent purely because of the potential of his frame, massive shame the games gone this way. He's just one example of a supremely talented player over looked due to this reason.