Joined: Jul 15 2005 Posts: 29816 Location: West Yorkshire
Mild Rover wrote:20 years ago nearly with loads of money and a golden generation emerging. What Radford did at Hull is more impressive, in many ways. You can chuck in Smith’s time at Wire and the scales are still not far off balanced.
After 25+ years of SL how do we define success and failure? I’d say there is a huge, possibly now unbridgeable, gulf between how it is defined by small number of top SL clubs and the rest. 10 years ago, I could convince myself that if another club got this or that just right they could maybe join the elite or displace one of them. Now, it feels really unlikely. We’re left hoping for a Leicester City 15-16, one amazing year, scenario. It’s by no means unique to SL - all the big football leagues in Europe have massive issues with competitive imbalance. But it’s understood and acknowledged. In RL people don’t seem to have come to terms with it and spout all sorts of (imo) rubbish about the salary cap or bringing through kids to keep it a strange mystery.
Been saying similar for years. If you look at all the SL Grand Finals there's a pretty small percentage of participants that aren't the Big 3 (Saints, Wigan, Leeds) since the demise of Bradford. You need cash for first team and a strong pipeline/ infrastructure. Outside of these and Warrington there's not enough cash for clubs to afford both.
Mrs Barista wrote:Been saying similar for years. If you look at all the SL Grand Finals there's a pretty small percentage of participants that aren't the Big 3 (Saints, Wigan, Leeds) since the demise of Bradford. You need cash for first team and a strong pipeline/ infrastructure. Outside of these and Warrington there's not enough cash for clubs to afford both.
There's a striking difference between the Grand Final and Challenge Cup Final. Only three Grand Final winners in sixteen years yet the Challenge Cup has had six different winners in six seasons and six finalists in the last three.
Joined: Jun 01 2007 Posts: 12672 Location: Leicestershire.
Mrs Barista wrote:Been saying similar for years. If you look at all the SL Grand Finals there's a pretty small percentage of participants that aren't the Big 3 (Saints, Wigan, Leeds) since the demise of Bradford. You need cash for first team and a strong pipeline/ infrastructure. Outside of these and Warrington there's not enough cash for clubs to afford both.
I think RL needs to improve competitive balance as a priority.
In SL we know who the favourites will be for the 2027 season already… if we keep the same general format. In the Championship the standard varies massively. Leigh scored 100 against mid-table York today. Internationally, England have don’t beat Australia and France don’t beat England.
It requires some imagination and probably some very difficult decisions.
'Thus I am tormented by my curiosity and humbled by my ignorance.' from History of an Old Bramin, The New York Mirror (A Weekly Journal Devoted to Literature and the Fine Arts), February 16th 1833.
Would Dennis Betts be worth a punt as an assistant or head of rugby?
This doesn't mean I want it to happen Just an idea.
He'll know Brett from Widnes
Its a no from me, as great a player as Betts was and the success he had as a player at Wigan its not transitioned in to him being a Head Coach with a very good track record for success.
I really enjoy long walks especially when they are taken by people I don't like!
Mrs Barista wrote:Been saying similar for years. If you look at all the SL Grand Finals there's a pretty small percentage of participants that aren't the Big 3 (Saints, Wigan, Leeds) since the demise of Bradford. You need cash for first team and a strong pipeline/ infrastructure. Outside of these and Warrington there's not enough cash for clubs to afford both.
I don't think the amount of teams making the Grand Final has been too bad, in the last decade Saints, Wigan, Catalans, Salford, Warrington, Leeds and Cas have been there which is just over half the league and the finals themselves have been good games, its just Saints have started to dominate the last few years
I'd love to see Wane. Think it would be the wake up call that a few players badly need. As you say I think Tony Smith would do well with us.
Michael Maguire's record in the NRL looks poor (I don't know enough about the NRL to know if there's any other circumstances involved in that) but he did well previously in Super League. He'd surely be better than what he have now.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum
Just an idea.
