I actually do see the advantage of 'impact players' At times the teams energy can drop if the other team is getting on the front foot or if they've seen a lot of ball. Impact players (for example Rob Burrow) added energy, speed at a time when the oppositions forwards energy is dropping. I've seen games changed with an impact player comes off the bench.

What about other sports? I suspect there are moves from NFL, NBA and NHL which could translate, plus obviously RU

Why complicate matters when you can look back and see ready made set plays from the great teams of the 90's that would work today?

Its all about sending defenders the wrong way and at the wrong men. What worked to confuse defenders back then will mostly still work today.

This is one of the reasons i wanted the club to bring in Andy Gregory to work with our half backs. We need somebody that can think outside of todays robotic structure obsessed setup. Thats not to say throw the modern game out of the window but merge the old and new together and get the best of both worlds.

I disagree

It has evolved but the skill level has decreased, that comes from grassroots and how the game has been watered down. We were full time for most of the 90's and had a massive fitness superiority to most clubs and also competed and beat full time aussie teams also. The players in the 90's has 2 subs and that was it but the forwards now with rolling subs are fitter with outside backs doing a lot of their work? Give over. Players in the 90's were bigger and maybe not as fit as a guy 2 stone lighter were fit enough to do the job. Its not looking back with nostalgia, its looking back with facts and opinions and reasons.

I must say that last year we were in transition. We lost a lot of world class talent - including coach and back room staff. We were never going to roll on and win trophies this year. At the beginning most people were happy with mid table, and to me, I think we out performed. Next year ( hopefully) we’ll have better players in and 2020 will be the poo or bust season for Lam. That’s my thoughts anyway.

But you haven’t given any facts, just a nostalgic opinion. Nor have I given any facts but an opinion and an educated one at that.

You think skill level has decreased whilst I in the contrary think it’s increased. I do believe it’s ludicrous to suggest that skill level has decreased since the 90’s. Players now are much fitter, agile and skilful than they were in the 90’s in general.

You keep labouring the point about substitutes; that’s utterly irrelevant. The game has evolved, changed. Boxing used to be 15rounds and before that unlimited rounds, does that mean the game has gone? Absolutely not.

I’m sorry but I completely disagree with everything you’ve said. The game is far more skilful now than it used to be.

again I disagree, players now are clones all similar size. In the 90's they were all specialists. The skill level has decresed due to grass roots for me. You now dont play a full 13 a side and full rules until about under 13's so cant have proper positions. it used to be full rules 13 a side from under 7's. Half backs in the 90's were all more skillful than they are now. Not as big granted but more skillful. Singers werent as big but were faster and more agile. Bradford started the trend with having nearly everyone over 16 stones and its now the blueprint of the game. My point about subs is irrelevant? How many props play 80 minutes now compared to the 90's?

The game has evolved. It learns from what works and implements it. While the games and plays of the 80s may look more skilful they're really not. In the last 10 years we've seen some amazing creative play and feats like no others from acerbating wingers diving for the corner, speedsters, and the most creative halves.
Just look at the likes of Thurston, Slater, Cronk, Inglis, Shaun Johnson, RTS and tell me they're not specialists in their positions.

All in Aus who have a different approach to youth setups. It was more skillful to score as a winger before as you had to beat the man and corner flag, now you just have to beat the man. How are they not more skillful the plays? If they look its because they were......the most creative halves? really?

In the last ten years we've seen the removal of the corner flags thus enabling half decent wingers to look like world beaters with their jazy dives in at the corner, 90% of said tries would have been disallowed ten years back so I wouldn't call any of that more skilful or evolved, Also I would love to see a list of these most creative halves your talking about because I can't think of any, Finally nobodies talking about the NRL so why bring it up to try and prove a point

As Brian Clough once said

Well meet up, have a chat and then both decide I was right!
Simples

I know that none of them are English.
Are you saying that Andy Gregory isn't better than any 7 playing today in SL or that Jonathan Davies wouldn't be the best FB?

Also give me Offiah or any winger with sheer pace flying down the wing anytime before any acrobatics.

Everything in the past was not great far from it but neither is everything today perfect. I think today coaches are under pressure to deliver almost immediately as they are appointed and this can lead to safety first tactics.
I do believe in cycles and that emphasis will change to a more attack minded type of play underpinned by solid defence.
The 1970's in general was pretty turgid and it needed the 1982 Invincibles tour to give the English RL a kick up the backside maybe the next World Cup will be won by an open brand to give us another kickstart.

I actually think that the 2020 season may be pretty decent with a few teams making some good improvements to their squads and hopefully a more competitive league. This could lead to more teams trying some old, some borrowed and hopefully some new plays to give the sport a bit more than 5 drives and a kick.

You touch on the 82 invincibles

6ft plus wingers
6ft plus centres
Back rowers with the speed of our centres and wingers.

Their fitness/strength etc played a major part in them being light years ahead of us.
It probably took 15/20 years for us to catch up on that.

With regards to individual players then rightly or wrongly Andy Gregory would need to fit in to the game plan and structures far more than he had to in the late 80s early 90s, same for Davies or any individualistic type player.

I'm a liverpool fan, but the games changed so much and is so much faster now and tactically/professionally advanced of the game of the mid 80s that this liverpool team would murder the team (in football) that I idolised.
Peter schmeichel was asked after the 99 champions league win to draw a comparison with the 68 team, he said theyd win 10-0, he was right.
And that's not to decry as I say the players of the past etc, but things move on and decade after decade as another roster said, coaches, players learn from things of the past and implement change to improve. That doesn't mean that the game is a better spectacle, but the better players then could expose the weaknesses of the lesser players/teams far easier then they could today.

Would I like to go back to the game of the 80s/90s early 00s then probably yes, but if we want teams and the game to improve then coaches will implement better structures, better individual coaching plans etc and overall each team will be "Better" so to speak.
Of course Greg/Hanley/Edward's/Davies/offiah/ Schofields of this world were exceptional players, and given all the advances that today's players are blessed to have then yes, they could equally be better than the currently players by the same amount they were back then. But they would have to do it within the constraints of today's methods and the fact that ALL players are coached/trained to that level and have the same advantages.
That has equalised a lot of the natural differences that players have and that back in the day separated a lot of the players..

Back on topic with regards to coaching and "Moves".
I'm not saying modern versions of "some" of the old stuff may be able to be used in certain ways, but to simply suggest that we use the same moves and/or get players of the past to come in and coach today's players to be as good as they were is completely lacking in understanding of today's game. I've sat with coaches st a very high level (and people who know me know how and why) and the detail that goes into today's coaching and game.l plans and structures is unbelievable and way ahead of anything that the Joe average fan like me or pretty much all of us on here would like to acknowledge.
That doesn't me we cant have opinions, but theres a reason those guys are in those positions and were not.