The same clubs keep winning it because they know how to ...the others, as good as they seem, don't.

I think we're seeing a real levelling of the playing field with the lower salary cap year on year relative to the NRL and Union. This could make it possible for a team to make far bigger strides in a short period of time than was previously possible. I'd agree with the poster above who said Warrington aren't far off. They will win one soon enough. Salford are another possibility when they've got Koukash's money. All they need IMO is someone with some squad building acumen to actually guide his chequebook rather than just letting him spray it around everywhere.

Having said that, I think the new play off format will exclude most clubs outside of Saints, Leeds, Wigan and Wire from ever getting to a GF. With the cap so low, the sides with the best youth systems have a huge advantage and the new playoffs will be like the CL in football. It will keep the other sides out while the top 4 become stronger and stronger.

is the OP post a general question or just a pot shot at hull fc? if the latter he needs to look at all the trophies and finals his own players talk about in the hull daily mail! their trophy cabinet must be full of paper trophies by now!

if its a genuine question, i cant see anything changing for a few seasons, we may get the odd different team in the final, even fc in a few seasons, until then it will be the same old same old, even with the new format!

Paranoid. Not to mention obsessed. Get a life.

If anyone out of the current top four win ie Wigan/Leeds/Saints/Warrington then we will get a thread saying it was the worst Superleague ever and proof the salary cap is too low.

Wonder what the odds would be that next year's final will be Saints v Wigan.

I certainly wouldn't bet against it.

..... I always enjoy the sly digs at Wire and their fans - Let's be honest here, outside of the trophy winning trio already named (Saints, Wigan & Leeds), most clubs would LOVE to be in Wire's position and the seasons we have supposedly endured since Tony Smith took over in 2009.

Financially stable, a modern stadium, which is filled to reasonable numbers most weeks, a competitive side, more trophies than any other side, apart from Wigan & Leeds, since 2009.

In truth, while we would love to claim a SL title, I'd imagine being a Wire fan is a far more satisfying experience than being a Huddersfield fan in their empty stadium, or a Wakefield, Hull or Hull KR with their seasons usually over by May, or a Bradford fan with their skint club, or indeed any other side outside the SL trophy winning trio....

Despite the regular arguments about the play off structure etc. There is a knack of doing well in the play offs and the clubs that are involved most regularly (especially at the semi final stage) generally fear better than the teams that haven't.
Also, the clubs that have won the GF in recent years have stronger squads and know how to manage them in order to make the final (notwithstanding the fact that Saints have played a good chunk of the season without a decent half back pairing).

The all new league structure will change the nature of the play offs, as it will be the top 4 who contest the play off series, which will certainly help the less experienced clubs, if they can secure a top 4 finish.

Having said that, they would still need to win the final

So is 3 Challenge Cups, 1 top of the table finish, and 2 GF appearances in the last 6 seasons and a style of rugby which is lauded by most within the game, a total failure then??

Of course, we would love to win the Super League title, but I think its fair to say most clubs, bar Wigan and Leeds, would swap their last 6 seasons for ours?

*If* the only concern was how to get a new name on the trophy as quickly as possible, your best shot would be to completely eliminate the cap - provided you assume that Koukash has, in Rugby terms, a more-or-less 'infinite' budget - thus making Salford a likely candidate. Not saying a complete free-for-all is a good idea, just that eliminating the cap would probably get you a new name on the trophy faster than lowering it. This would not have been true pre-Koukash.

What is it with you and the asterisk?