After reading Bilko's decision to leave the game for good and this forum and his radio commentaries i agree. The salary cap has now totally changed the game. Every top 8 team is capable of beating eachover and the game is now like the flick of a coin who wins games. The current players in Wigans team would not have got into the old alliance team . We have referees who dont know if tries are scored when games are on television and are always unsure. The game has penalties given left right and centre for no reason. Salford came 7th this season and now have the chance to be relegated even with a millionare owner! promising to give them glory! cup final with record numbers of empty seats! and the fact that i along with 4 or 5 thousand over Wigan fans have given up watching the team regulary e.g. 15,000-16,000 average down to about 11,000. And now even our very own Bilko is jumping ship! THE SALARY CAP HAS RUINED SL!

It's sad isn't it? The salary cap was brought in to end Wigan's dominance of the game and it was successful in doing so. However it brought Wigan and the other top teams down to the standard of the less successful clubs rather than brining the standard of the less successful clubs up to the higher standard.
Our game is a far cry from the scintillating, fast, ferocious sport it once was and I fear there is no way back.
Some changes are for the better with better protection for player safety but it has reduced the attraction of our great game.

One of my biggest gripes is how long a televised match now takes. Leeds and Leigh were still playing at five past ten last night!

Only somewhat agree with all this. Yes the standard has dropped, but I'd point to over-regulation and seriously rubbish refs killing flow rather than blaming it all on the SC. Our domination (and Bradford's and Fax and Fev's at periods over the last 100 years) are only good for the fair-weather fans and do nothing to actually grow the game. If, as people are saying, that most clubs are now on a level (albeit one that could be argued is lower than it should be) then shirley it's for the controllers of the game to ensure everyone's standards are raised together, not one club being allowed to pull so far ahead as to disenfranchise the rest?
But as it's Red Hall that would be charged with that, I'm not holding my breath.

Agree, it's ridiculous. Though it's not just televised games so not just SKY to blame. The whole game is so slow at the minute. Every scrum takes about 3 minutes to pack down with players taking in fluids every single time, players constantly going down 5m from their line before goal line drop outs, video refs taking ages on decisions, the likes of Gale and Sneyd taking hours to convert a try, the over sanitisation of the obstruction rule, players constantly milking penalties and chatting to refs. All leads to a very dull affair at the minute.

Agreed. The RFL definitely need to look at bringing the NRL's shot-clock in. Would make a huge improvement in most of those areas.

I think there are several strings to this clear decline that we are seeing and ine that it is impossible to deny is happening.

Firstly the cap, clearly designed to make the game more competitive at the cost of bringing all clubs in line with the lowest common denominator.

The lack of top quality overseas stars coming to SL. Those days are at the moment long gone although the marquee rule may tempt some back.

The format, of the season, basically it has aged very quickly and needs freshening up ensuring every game really does count.

The lack of quality coaches in the game with so few ideas. With most of the teams it is as if they are playing the same way they did 5 years ago. No overseas coach has really come in and shaken things up in the same way Madge did and Brown did before him.

Player development. We have major issues bridging the gap from Junior to first team rugby, the Academy comp is also often a mismatch in standard.

A lack of quality administrators.

It is a real worry. It needs someone to come in and really take the code by the scruff of the neck and kick some life back into the sport, Mo Lindsey had his critics but oh how we could do with someone like him coming into the game and dragging it forward rather than have the likes of Nigel Wood one of the most inept administrators in the sport before he took over leading our sport.

The cap plays a huge part tbh. I always said from the beginning that it was a way of dragging standards down rather then up and we're now left with a more even but pretty poor standard of league.

The argument for the cap was that it would stop clubs spending above their means but as many if not more clubs have had financial troubles since its introduction.

If people like Koukash and Simon Moran could spend what they wanted them players like Sam Burgess and James Graham may well have been playing back in superleague and you can add some top overseas talent to that list as well. That would increase the standard of competition as well as putting bums on seats which would in turn help clubs increase their revenue.

The play offs and Grand Final have ruined Rugby League.

My Grandad would agree. After tonight he wont watch any more. He says whoever finishes top are champions and doesn't care about the Sky Sports Trophy.

I don't think so, the Premiership existed in a similar space to the playoffs.

Sky using the game as what feels like a space filler is the problem, they simply don't value the game enough. If it cost them more, maybe they would market it more to make more money out of the games. As it stands I suspect they make a healthy return without needing to spend money on promoting the game outside of their own airtime. So why risk a bunch of cash on advertising when they make a decent margin right now.

The play-offs are consistent in sport. There's only really a few leagues worldwide who use the FPTP system.

Great topic but no simple answer. A plethora of issues within the game none on their own are key critical but collectively they are bringing the game down to the point where I just do not see a long term credible future for the sport. In no particular order here for me are some of the issues that need addressing

Lack of stars within the game. With ST not the player he was I don't think we have one real quality player in the competition. Too many mediocre players and few if any personalities that known outside the traditional areas. The SC has got to be increased.

Too many games that have no importance which leads to lack of intensity and strongly contested matches. Every minute counts my arris.
The magic weekend is an excuse for a booze up which in itself I have no problem with but it adds zero to the sport. Mediocrety is rewarded or at least not punished.

Pool of players to pick from is too small. Historically RU plus Aus and NZ helped fill this gap. This gap just hasn't been filled.

Everything revolves around the PTB. Nothing else matters. Leads to cheating, moaning, scrappy play, lack of imagination etc etc. This is one fault that can be fixed overnight. Refs need apply the rules not just for defence but also attack where no one seems to play the ball correctly or from the correct place.

Lack of reserve team football. The gap from u19s to first x13 is too large. Easily fixed. All teams in SL must have a reserve team and an academy if they don't they forfeit the right to play in the competition.

The current deal with Sky has got be renegotiated. I know the ink is still drying but without increased revenues the game can't attract top NRL stars or keep the few we currently have.

Too many interchanges. Too many Jack of all trade players with zero masters.

Poor leadership from the top. What has Barwick brought to the sport? Wood comes across as useless and unaware of the por quality of his sport.

Exceptionally poor fitness levels. A game now last for 2 hours but most forwards are on the pitch for less than 40 minutes.

No biff anymore. This might upset some but most people want it nay expect it. I couldn't believe it last year when Simms chinned young Williams and not one Wigan player didn't attempt to put Simms on his arris.

Water carriers. I'd gladly see these guys hung drown and quartered.

Coaching. No new newness no freshness.

Sky. Match day ok but all other reporting eg Boots and All has just disappeared. Thursday and Friday matches! Let's get back to Saturday or Sunday games.

Non existent media coverage. This is currently embarrassing but easily sorted with the right expertise in place.

Basic skills replaced with wrestling and moaning. We have "centres" who just can't pass and its accepted as the norm within the game. Mediocrety accepted and rewarded.

I could go on and on. Some are for me easy to resolve whilst others wil take years.
I think the most important is new blood at the top of the sport. We need energy, newness, imagination and raised levels of expectations.
Someone mentioned another Uncle Mo I think we need someone from outside the sport who isn't tainted either Lankie/Yorkie or Wigan/Leeds who will grab the sport by the proverbial short curlies into the future.

Personally I fear for the future unless we get someone from the top drawer to turn the sport around.

Semi drunk random thought.


New concept for the finals.

Straight shoot out for the league title. You win the League, you win the League title. We then enter the play offs. If the League champions win the play off series they become champions. If they do not and another team does win the play offs they become play off champions.

If we have a league champions and a play off champions we then have a 1 off game to decide the SL champions.

Just a thought after a few pints but it would actually mean winning the weekly rounds gives you a direct straight shot at being champions.

From a spectator POV the biggest problem within the game is the ruck. It's a farce. Ball carriers simply die with the ball to try and gain a quick PTB, and then crawl forward to take out the markers. The defenders try and react to this by laying on for as long as possible. Nevermind the cap, fixing the PTB would be the most effective, and cheapest thing the game could do to improve itself in this country.

Overall though I'd say the quality of defence is a million miles ahead of where it was 10-20 years ago. If you look at some of the defensive lines from the winter days, you could drive a bus through them.