The strength of RL in the UK

[upminsterwarrior]

On the BBC website Shaun Wane is quoted as saying;

"We have such a good spread throughout the squad that we can leave nine players out and put those young kids in and still win games"

I have read that quote in 2 ways;

1. The Wigan squad is very strong as we have a "conveyor belt" of talent who need match time to progress

2. The rest of the league is so poor that we can rest our 1st choice team for the majority of the weekly rounds, still finish somewhere near the top, and we will have a well rested/more experienced squad come the play-offs

I think that the situation is a combination of both the strength of our youth set up and the weakness of the rest of the league - but it doesn't fill me full of confidence for the future competitiveness of our sport.

discuss...(if you want)

[TrueBlueWarrior]

I think in a nutshell it is a bit of both.

[Wigan_forever1985]

On the BBC website Shaun Wane is quoted as saying;

"We have such a good spread throughout the squad that we can leave nine players out and put those young kids in and still win games"

I have read that quote in 2 ways;

1. The Wigan squad is very strong as we have a "conveyor belt" of talent who need match time to progress

2. The rest of the league is so poor that we can rest our 1st choice team for the majority of the weekly rounds, still finish somewhere near the top, and we will have a well rested/more experienced squad come the play-offs

I think that the situation is a combination of both the strength of our youth set up and the weakness of the rest of the league - but it doesn't fill me full of confidence for the future competitiveness of our sport.

discuss...(if you want)

Spot on

[Owd Codger]

So in other words, the failure of others clubs, with the exception of Leeds and St Helens, to do likewise.

[shaunedwardsfanclub]

One thing is for sure, it is not a patch on the NRL. In my view the overall quality of RL in the UK has declined over the last decade. The SL franchise was supposed to correct this but has clearly been a failure.

[medlocke]

SL and the switch to summer has slowly killed the game along with the salary cap, gary & kath hetherington, Roby MOS, Sinfield golden boot, play off system, constant rule changes and trying to copy everything the Aussies do :exc:

[thegimble]

Quality all round is the same for the last 15-20 years. Even 15-20 years ago you had poor sides. Problem now with the cap supposedly evening it all out it has failed big style. So the cap has not done its job.

Nor stoped clubs going broke and we have not seen a side come to challenge the big clubs.

[southernpie]

Since I started regularly watching the game in the early 80's, only Wigan, Stains and Whinos have consistently been in the mix in the top tier. Interestingly from my point of view they are the only three teams that have continually brought quality youngsters through.

[markill]

All teams consistently have a number of injuries to deal with. Maybe not so many as we've had this year, but look at Hull on Friday for example. Yeaman, Horne, Ellis, Tuson, Heremaia all out. There is an issue with depth but in my opinion not with top level quality. Greater resources at all clubs, especially those who can't afford to spend close to the cap, and a better pathway for more youngsters to develop at a better rate across professional clubs is what's needed to solve the concerns over the depth of quality in the league.

[Owd Codger]

One thing is for sure, it is not a patch on the NRL. In my view the overall quality of RL in the UK has declined over the last decade. The SL franchise was supposed to correct this but has clearly been a failure.

Its decline as a result of Union going Professional in 1996 and top players from that code, especially from South Wales no longer coming to our game

Prior to then, we had many Great Britain teams which included players from Wales and Scotland in them, but alas no longer.

And if the salary cap has been a failure, will raising it make the situation worse for some clubs?