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Looking at the table, its very close at the top, there isn't 1 or 2 dominant teams like there has been in previous years.

To that end the question is, is the skill level in the league getting better? or worse?

I think Alex Murphy hit it on the head as mentioned in an earlier thread!

it looks like its getting more competative. who would have thought hudders would be top and hull close by? or wigan, wire, leeds and saints would lose 3 games or more after 10 games?.
i used to like premier league football but now im becoming more disallusioned with game as same team is winning league all time. its rubbish.

SL is getting more even through mediocrity. Dumbing down.

Is it a better standard of RL I would say not.

It is important people do not get too excited by early leaders. As the season progresses the usual suspects tend to emerge although Leeds proved it does not even matter last season.

RE football, Man U are top but have only recently gained that spot. Does it make the League better / worse than Man City were totally dominant early season then Totenham for a brief spell. I am a Man U fan but Man U have been very ordinary this season IMO.

IMO we are seeing the benefits of a much more professional academy system. We're seeing more consistent and higher quality players coming out of the academies. Look at the number of promising out side backs we have at the moment, its better than it was 10 years ago. I'm not talking about the one-offs like Sam world here, more the level down from that. We've had consistent success against the best in the world at academy level and I hope that is transitioned to being competitive at senior grade in the next 5 to 10 years.

I think its getting better as more teams are competing at the top and playing a better level of rugby than years past with the speed and athletic ability these guys have from 1 to 13 on the pitch.

I enjoy watching the game more now than I did ten years ago. By this I mean watching other teams play each other. I always loved watching Wigan games but barely watch other games. Now I'll watch all the rugby league I can.

I would say that the Level of the top 6/7 teams is good, however below them clubs the level is not very good apart from one off games.

There are better younger players coming though as a whole but with youth brings a bit of inconsistency.

Are the youngsters better than in previous years?

Remember our Robinson/Brown/Hock era; just as good as now IMO?

Saints and Leeds have been producing quality for a decade+

If we are producing better youngsters? What impact does SL play? OR is is it just better youth development at the grassroots?

Personally, I come across young boys with genuine talent who live a few, less than 10-20 miles from Wigan, St Helens who have never played RL. Football is taking the cream of youngsters earlier and earlier.

It may be my cynicism but the actual league competition appears to be getting worse because the values have changed so much. Everyone now knows that it's vital at the end of the season to gain only, a reasonable league position but make sure your key players are kept fit for the play offs.

Think I read somewhere the prize money is £50k for coming top, with little recognition of the achievement, £100k for the challenge cup, with a bit more recognition because it's on the BBC and £250k for the grand final with all the plaudits regardless of how you've performed throughout the year.

Losing heavily and playing like amateurs is accepted as long as the holy grail is reached and this in my opinion short changes the fans.

I for one don't like it one bit and think that whoever finishes top should be rewarded with a trip straight to the final and let the also rans play off for the privilege of meeting you there.

jobo wrote:It may be my cynicism but the actual league competition appears to be getting worse because the values have changed so much. Everyone now knows that it's vital at the end of the season to gain only, a reasonable league position but make sure your key players are kept fit for the play offs.

Think I read somewhere the prize money is £50k for coming top, with little recognition of the achievement, £100k for the challenge cup, with a bit more recognition because it's on the BBC and £250k for the grand final with all the plaudits regardless of how you've performed throughout the year.

Losing heavily and playing like amateurs is accepted as long as the holy grail is reached and this in my opinion short changes the fans.

I for one don't like it one bit and think that whoever finishes top should be rewarded with a trip straight to the final and let the also rans play off for the privilege of meeting you there.

Totally agree. The best team for me is the team that finishes top of the regular season YET now we even get the sham of clubs virtually throwing fixtures as and when they please because it matter not one jot in the long run.