I think its quite natural that in the early years of the salary cap (combined with stricter quota rules), the standard of the traditionally higher placed clubs would drop.

Instead of being able to sign up the best players, the focus is now on the coaches to train up the more modest youngsters and implement more effective playing strategies. I expect the standard to start creeping up over time.

Agree fully.

The early stages are going to see a lower standard. As clubs start to improve coaching and using their youngsters more and more due to no threat of relegation the standard should improve. Its a long term project IMO.

The standard of coaching is appalling at most SL teams and this is holding players and teams back.

Warrington have realised too late that appointing an explayer with little/no coaching experience isnt going to do you favours, but for me their season has already been wrecked.

Hudersfield and Hull KR have shown that with a decent coach, run of the mill players can improve their basic skills dramatically and therefore become a significant threat.

Saying that i think a lot of the current blowouts are down to 3 games in 8 days for teams.

Wigan fans always cry wolf at the salary cap
Hull fans are saying the competition is weaker when in reality its them who are weaker, due to having a caoch in charge who is out of his depth.

and don't forget the players!!!

They have a responsiblity as well.

I agree with wellsy the standard has dropped and significantly. 4/5 years ago we had 3-4 clubs challenging for the title, and another 1-2 who could launch a bid for it, that was nearly half the league, now we have two who are comfortably better which is apparently the league being "more competitive"

Knowing this The only argument you could make against this being evidence of the dumbing down of the league would be if those two clubs were comfortably better than they were 5 years ago, as a leeds fan, who has just seen his team crowned back to back champions, I would still argue we aren't as good as we were 5 years ago

The recent Leeds hudds game was 2nd v 4th and bar a top
Quality 15mins around half time for Leeds, the fundementals from both sides were very poor.

This is an obvious effect of an sc designed purely to hold back the top clubs, that is all it was meant to do and all It can do, stop the top teams improving past a certain level leading to a levelling down of the league until we have a league full of mediocre clubs

And anybody thinking this sc will bring through rafts of quality new young British players is simply deluding themselves, we have Many many many more overseas players than we had pre-cap and we aren't seeing clubs bring through lots of quality youngsters, and certainly not lots more than previously

It's time for a complete rethink on the cap

The drop in standards at Wigan, Bradford, Hull and Warrington in the last 3-4 years has been very alarming, with no real threat coming from elsewhere. Catalans had their brief moment in the sun reaching Wembley and having a decent tilt last year, but realistically they were never going to win SL last season. HKR and Huddersfield have been hyped up a little bit so far this year, but can you realistically see them winning either trophy?

Saints and Leeds are the benchmark and have developed good standards in SL in the last 3 years, but until the competition improves across the board, even they will be significantly weaker than their NRL counterparts. Saints and Leeds have both had good coaches (Australian/Kiwi) and players over the last 3-4 years which I think is very significant.

Anyone who thinks the standards in SL aren't dropping needs to have a look at the GB/England performances and the lack of British world class players which have developed in the last 10 years. Our competition is filled with mediocre British players, over the hill aussies, and players from the southern hemisphere who aren't good enough for the NRL. All we are developing are more and more average youngsters who are coming into a game which is all about pace, power and attrition rather than the higher levels of skill we saw 10+ years ago.

The difference between us and the aussies isn't that they are any different to us when they start playing, it's that at every stage of the game in Oz they have a much better quality of coaching. Goes right through from the kids to 1st grade. Until we get that right we'll never produce top class players in large numbers

The games on sky this year have been mostly cack because they keep showing the bottom sides,Wigan,Warrington,Bradford are on every week,Cas have been on once!

Why has it taken since 1982 for the penny to drop?

Does anyone REALLY think the clubs will not take the easy option of purchasing"talent" rather then the hard work of developing talent and thats not just players but ALL aspects of the game.

The Aussies/Kwis/South Sea Islanders/PNG etc etc are just human beings no more no less.

I am sorry if I keep repeating myself but until the ENTIRE game in this country, at all levels, is revamped and the club only mentality removed then there will be little if any improvement

What changes would you suggest?