Impossible to compare 80s rugby to when the game went pro. It's just not possible at all as teams was basically amatuer.

However, it's easy to compare saints of 5 years a go to saints now as the game is and was fully pro.

I'd go as far as saying the game was better 5 years ago.

Do you not think that the increase to 14 teams has seen player quality diluted?
I mean, if you look through the squads of the Super League teams, there are plenty of players that would never have been anywhere near first teams back in the early to mid 2000's.

Yes I'm convinced the 14 teams has played a part in it.

I'm not so sure it was that good 5 years a go. I agree with Magic Superbeetle though. Saints and Bulls fans probably think super league was much more competitive and better 10 years a go. But that's because we were winning everything. You had the Saints/Bulls dominating and Leeda and Wigan occasionally getting to a final. The rest made up numbers.

Yes the Bulls/Saints team of early 00's were arguably better than the current table toppers. But the league itself is much closer from top to bottom (which is what the RFL wants) maybe the Saints/Bulls team of 00's would go unbeaten in 2014. But because they had all the best players. Now it's more evenly spread out.

I don't think what has helped is the NRL signing players like Graham/Burgess/Tomkins. Need to try and keep these players in SL.

Licensing killed any competitiveness at the bottom of the table. And the introduction of the top 8play-off system was one of the worst decisions ever.

Anyway if Saints were hammering everyone evru week I'm Sure Saddened would have a thread moaning how boring it is watching saints smash everyone and SL should be more like NRL.

Yet it's still the same teams wining at old Trafford and competing at old Trafford so it's not really evened it out.

Sure enough it's tight at the top but the relegation was done and dusted with 7 games to play.

Without doubt quality has dropped.

Tbf tho it's like that in any sport, so I don't think it can be used as an indicator of anything. The premier league is probably the most competitive football league yet only a select few have won it.

The main problem is that the salary cap hasn't gone up for over a decade. Buy £1 worth of bread in 2004 and £1 worth of bread now and see what you get for your money.

But they don't have a salary cap in football to even it out. Football is usually who spends most wins the league but super league we are all suppose to be on level playing field.

Whilst the winners have been restricted in the GF. You look at the CC and the league leaders and there has been a lot more variation in recent years.

Relegation team Huddersfield topping the table.

Warrington who always pretend to be good, winning back to back CC's and topping the table.

It's not as stagnant as the GF suggests.

It probably highlights that certain teams are able to cope with the big high pressure games more than others? That's a culture thing more than anything

Thats correct, clubs have looked away from real long term quality. Instead of shopping at Marks and Spencers its a short term fix at Poundland instead.

The quality across the board is considerably less than a few years ago. Put our current strongest 17 up against 2006 strongest 17 and it would be an embarrassing scoreline

Put the Saints side from the 60's (Murphy,Van Vollenhoven, Karalius,Watson,Killeen,Mantle) in, and they would give some of these teams a run for their money !!!!

I think that whilst the competition is closer than it has ever been up at the top the reason for that is simply the top clubs becoming weaker rather than the lower clubs getting better. Go back 10 years and the likes of Wigan, St's, Leeds, Bulls, would walk the competition in it's current state, I'm glad that its a more even playing field, But it's an even playing field for all the wrong reasons.

Go back a decade and we had real stars in the game and some top quality imports from aus (albeit it usually at the end of their career) . We struggle to even hold onto those kind of players now.

The current wigan/saints teams wouldn't have got near the top of superleague 10 years ago.

Too right! Holding the cap at its current level for years has made it a more even playing field by bringing the top teams down to the lowest common denominator rather than raising the quality of the poorer teams. If we carry on like this we'll all end up playing like London.