Quote ="Exeter Rhino"In the late 90s and early 00s the competition was much less intense - even Leeds sides under Powell and Lance could be confident in winning a large number of games simply because there wasn't as much of level playing field back then. Even the Bulls side of 2003 which is widely regarded as SL's best ever team would win fewer games in the current competition IMO - but that's just my opinion! The fact that Leeds have managed to win 3 in a row in a more competitive era makes the achievement all the more special IMO.
I think the current Leeds side may well be the last time a single team dominates the competition over such a period (unless the salary cap rules are changed drastically), so I'm trying to make the most of it now, especially having seen what happened at Odsal. It may seem unthinkable now but if/when Caddick and El Presidente leave Headingley Leeds could find themselves in a similar position.'"
It's very difficult to compare isn't it. Back in the early years of SL the rules on salary cap spend were different - ie, upto 50% of revenue to a max amount of £X if I remember rightly, and now, all teams can spend upto the maximum agreed.
At that time some (not many probably) players would have played for less to ensure they played for the "best" teams, so clubs like Bradford, Wigan, Saints and Leeds hogged the best players. Players like Lee Gilmour couldn't get a game for Bradford but when the salary cap changed, these type of players moved on (Lee probably isn't the best example as he went to Saints but you get the idea).
By the way, I think that the comment about Dean Lance winning most games is probably OTT
