Re: The Standard of modern game! : Sun Sep 25, 2016 9:53 am  

To be fair the standard of education, health service, general council services,tax collection,border controls,banking, driving & road surfaces, public transport,town centre shopping facilities,mainstream television, music, politics, pubs/nightclubs, haydock races and life in general have all deteriorated since the credit crunch. Relatively speaking rugby has maintained some semblance of equalibrium and stability and given the chance could rebound into a great sport again. Lets face it, football cannot improve, it has monopolised most of the money and its standards have declined since the sugar daddies and gangsters got involved.

Re: The Standard of modern game! : Sun Sep 25, 2016 10:50 am  

The change to a top 8 league structure is a step forward, but it still ends up with uncompetitive fixtures. Wakefield finished the regular season with 20 points and realistically had no hope of overhauling St Helens who finished with 28 points. Wakefield still have 20 points.

I would prefer a top 6 league format where they all play each other once, then move onto the semis and the GF. The bottom 6 can join the top 2 in the league below (as frankly 3rd & 4th in that division are only there to make the numbers up), with the top 6 playing SL next season. With that type of format, the post-season split would be a lot more competitive.

The Challenge Cup final should be moved to the last weekend in May, and if we must have a Magic Weekend, that can be on the early May BH.

Re: The Standard of modern game! : Sun Sep 25, 2016 11:08 am  

The football play-offs are the last weekend in May so Wembley is unavailable.

Re: The Standard of modern game! : Sun Sep 25, 2016 12:06 pm  

Wigg'n wrote:

The football play-offs are the last weekend in May so Wembley is unavailable.

I am fortunate to be old enough to remember that the Challenge Cup Final always used to be on the second Saturday in May, the week after the FA final but this was suddenly changed in 1975/1976 to be the first weekend in May, I remember that because I always came home for my weeks holiday from my job in Kenya and found out that the Challenge Cup Final had been last week.

Re: The Standard of modern game! : Sun Sep 25, 2016 1:00 pm  

What some of you guys do not realize is that if no Salary cap existed you would have a super league of around 4 teams as every other club would have gone bust . Regarding the so called cheating and messy play the ball area we are on the correct board to discuss that as some would say Wigan have been a major player in the advance of both of these

Re: The Standard of modern game! : Sun Sep 25, 2016 2:03 pm  

ploinerrhino wrote:

What some of you guys do not realize is that if no Salary cap existed you would have a super league of around 4 teams as every other club would have gone bust . Regarding the so called cheating and messy play the ball area we are on the correct board to discuss that as some would say Wigan have been a major player in the advance of both of these

Not sure how a Leeds fan can talk about messing around at the PTB without a bolt of lightning hitting you... #JustSaying

Re: The Standard of modern game! : Sun Sep 25, 2016 2:46 pm  

muttywhitedog wrote:

The change to a top 8 league structure is a step forward, but it still ends up with uncompetitive fixtures. Wakefield finished the regular season with 20 points and realistically had no hope of overhauling St Helens who finished with 28 points. Wakefield still have 20 points.

So a team who performed badly didn't have that much of a chance of winning anything. Shock horror. Surely we don't want to change the format to reward mediocrity?

Re: The Standard of modern game! : Sun Sep 25, 2016 2:50 pm  

All fans can talk about the messy PTB as all teams are guilty of it. Players will try and get away with as much as they can and all coaches attempt to come up with ways to slow the PTB down.

Just because Wigan are guilty of it doesn't stop me from complaining about it and wanting the PTB cleaned up. If refs constantly penalise (and by that I mean all season not just for the first few weeks) things like moving off the mark, holding down once the tackle has been completed, not playing the ball properly and hands in then coaches will be instructing players not to do it. One of the biggest differences between us and the NRL is our refs shout held and move and the players lie on for another few seconds, in the NRL the refs shout move and the players move as they know they'll get penalised if they don't.

Re: The Standard of modern game! : Sun Sep 25, 2016 4:44 pm  

Also, how often does the ref called "held" with the ball carrier standing, only for the tacklers to carry on and wrestle him to the floor - infuriating!

Re: The Standard of modern game! : Sun Sep 25, 2016 8:39 pm  

ploinerrhino wrote:

What some of you guys do not realize is that if no Salary cap existed you would have a super league of around 4 teams as every other club would have gone bust

True, but most of us are not calling for a complete abandonment, just a return to the original 50% of income idea, without the later adition of the finite limit.