Quote: thepimp007 " The thing for me is look at the quality of the game from say 98-2007. The game for me was so much faster and I really think we had better players playing then than now. Yes the game is more even across the league which is fantastic but for me the end product isnt as good. We can't compete moneywise with the NRL and the longer it goes on the bigger the gap will become'"
This is very true. The NRL was previously owned (50% I think) by Fox Sports. When tv contracts were negotiated, they negotiated with themselves and ended up paying very little for the NRL.
Super League benefited from this attracting some of the best overseas players as we could beat what they could earn in the NRL. Just look at all the Kiwi internationals that used to play Super League, there are now none.
Fox Sports no longer own any share in the NRL, as a result tv revenue is massively up, and along with it the salary cap. We will never be able to complete financially with the NRL, the game over there is massive. That era is never coming back. Not only do we not have Kiwi internationals in Super League, we don't have Englands best internationals either. We just have to accept Super League will be a lower standard and do the best we can with it.