It's not rocket science. We should have made some tough but necessary decisions about what i call no ambition clubs and then when we had a solid group of teams we should have implemented longer licensing & forced quotas of academy produced players onto clubs.

We should have closed SL up and kept the licensing system for a minimum of 10 years imo. Like the Grand Final or Magic Weekend it needed a prolonged period to really bed in and become the norm. How can you judge something in so little time? How do you know the long term impacts and benefits?

Going back to a hap hazard promotion and relegation system isn't good for anyone. In previous seasons with P&R in place all we saw was the yo-yoing of a couple of teams being promoted and then getting relegated the season straight after. Add into that the sides were jam packed with 2nd rate Aussies who once relegated signed for the promoted team the season after made it laughable.

You only have to look at the development of Widnes to see the positives of a having time to build without the threat of relegation hanging over you. In their first season they stayed loyal to the young lads who had been with them in the Championship. It let them properly evaluate which lads were good enough to make the step up in class. Do you really think anything like that would have happened if they had to fight relegation from day 1? They progressed in a slow and steady way in every 3 of the seasons of the licensing system.

We needed longer to let the stability that it offered sink into the league. Long term investment in youth without the fear of relegation is how you improve standards. Look at a club like Cas who have now got a settled and talented side.