My views on this are quite simple. The two most frustrated sets of supporters in rugby league at the moment are the supporters of Wigan and Warrington. The reason is that both sets probably feel their team should have won the last two Grand Finals but didn't.

Wigan fans are already seeing quality replaced with not quite as good for next season, and have by far the most wanted man in the game in their team and they're worried about losing him in the near future too. Warrington fans are seeing quality players age and are fearing they won't be replaced by the same standard in a year or two's time.

Both know their club has a bit of dough and could afford to spend above the cap IF their owners and board were prepared to, so feel held back.

That's fair enough, but eight Challenge Cups and seven league titles in a row tells it's own story about what happens when one club is allowed to freely outspend the rest. No one wants a return to those days - except very biased Wigan fans maybe!

Money is not necessarily the only factor in players moving anyway. Yes, the NRL salary cap increasing means less high calibre Aussies will be tempted over here, but for years people have complained about too many overseas players anyway. Forcing clubs to focus on youth development is not a bad progression. As for holding on to our own stars, well the fact is the NRL and RFU do have more to offer than we do, like it or not. Going to Australia gives players the chance to experience a different way of life, in better weather, in a part of the world where rugby league enjoys a far higher profile than it does here. Rugby union gives players the opportunity to try something new knowing that if they succeed they could be playing for England in front of over 70,000 people regularly, citing national hero Jason Robinson and current golden boy Chris Ashton as their inspiration.

That's before money even comes into it. Those opportunities will always appeal.

I don't like all the "rugby league will die unless..." scaremongering. In 117 years rugby league has never managed to get a real foothold outside the north, but it's still alive. For it to continue we need to give more clubs opportunity rather than marginalise them as the big get bigger by outspending. We need to stop Bradford type collapses happening again. If that means players go elsewhere for money or any other reason so be it, some will anyway. If Sky pulled the plug and the game went part time again though it will not die as long as there are still tens of thousands of people who want to play and watch it. Which there is. Primarily in the north, yes, but I don't see that as a major problem. So relax.

in regards to changing the salary cap levels then i am ok with this as long as the rich can't spend that much,and just because they can,as that will only widen the gap at the top.we certainly don't need another case of wigan buying trophies just because they could,or do we need leeds chasing them cos they could

the benchmark for success can be seen by all at the rhinos,we don't break the cap,we don't back down when agents demand more money for their clients,but we continue to win silverware and on a level playing field with all the top sides too,so the question has to be why do we spend our money better than everyone else?
if the limit was raised moderately and across all clubs then i dare say that the same clubs would appear at wembley and win grand finals each year?

I have to say that Leeds are the 'gold standard' that we should all be aiming for. You are a beacon of hope for smaller clubs like Wire. We do our best to emulate you, but year after year you just seem to get better. Even when we manage to retain the services of TS, whom you trained up and gave a job to when nobody else would, we still get beaten in the GF.

However, the really important question I would like to ask is, do you think Paul Wood can now be described as the hardest man in SL, or do you think it's still Ryan ?

bailey wouldn't have even felt a thing as he's that tough

Yes and looked what happened to both Wigan and Leeds. Wigan won everything which became boring and Leeds went bust trying to chase the dream of catching Wigan, who went bust or very close to later on. The salary cap is not perfect and should be altered to once again include a maximum percentage of turn over. It is more important to stop the farce of clubs spending too much and going bust. That is what really hurts the sport.

On the issue of a draft system that could not work in Rugby League as all clubs pay and bring up their own junior players and it would be very damaging to then poach these players to other clubs that have not invested in their youth.

Rugby league needs to forget these grand ideas and build from the lower divisions and look to increase standards we always seem to look for the quick fix or the god father.

We are strong in the heartlands and the process of converting the unbelievers will take many years of junior and school development which thankfully has started and needs to be given support, that is where our long term success will come from.