Its the same number of "good" players spread out over more teams due to the salary cap, so yes I feel its getting weaker as a whole. The competition is more even I suppose, but not necessarily better for it.

There's a currency that settles this - trophies. Excluding the WCC there are three available - super league, challenge cup, league leaders, each should have roughly equal weighting IMO, and on this it's Saints first, then Bradford then Leeds (then Wigan?)

In terms of individual teams, 2 have done the treble, a task requiring consistency and big game quality: Bulls in 2003, Saints in 2006. Arguably Saints is the more impressive achievment with the CC being at the end of the season rather than the beginning, but this could be argued both ways.

Personally I think that the 2003 Bulls were better but I'm biased. Either way, Leon comes out of it quite well doesn't he...

Better to compare the Leeds squad of 2004 which bested the majority of your 2003 squad

1 Gary Connolly Full Back
2 Francis Cummins Wing
3 Chris McKenna Second Row
4 Keith Senior Centre
5 Chev Walker Centre
6 Danny McGuire Stand Off
7 Robert Burrow Scrum Half
8 Ryan Bailey Prop
9 Matthew Diskin Hooker
10 Barrie McDermott Prop
11 David Furner Second Row
12 Matt Adamson Second Row
13 Kevin Sinfield Loose Forw
14 Andrew Dunemann Stand Off
15 Chris Feather Prop
16 Willie Poching Second Row
17 Wayne McDonald Prop
18 Mark Calderwood Wing
19 Danny Ward Prop
20 Jamie Jones-Buchanan Second Row
21 Richard Mathers Full Back
22 Marcus Bai Wing
23 Dwayne Barker Stand Off
24 Nick Scruton Prop
25 Jason Netherton Second Row
28 Liam Botham Second Row
29 Ali Lauitiiti Second Row
30 Carl Ablett

Er...why the Leeds squad of 2004? I don't see the relevance.

The Bulls squad of 2003 looks better in my eyes, it did the treble, something Leeds 2004 didn't manage.

The reason I think the league has got weaker is that if the Leeds 2009 squad can top the league and win the GF he same as Bulls 2003 or Saints 2006 could then the league must have got weaker as in these previous years a team of that strength wouldn't have finished top.

Are Leeds the best team in the superleague era?
Was Michael Barrymore spotted at a cafe in Majorca at the weekend and is there a missing chair leg?

Answers on a postcard....

The competition is more even than some years ago with fewer blow out scorelines which is good. Whether that means the standard of play has improved is another matter. I think we've seen standards plateau for some years and in some teams, notably ours, standard of play has slipped dramatically.

Will a more even competition drive up standards? Not sure about that. Think the driver is improved coaching. If that's the key coachign appointments from Australia look to be the way forward.

It`s definitely been the most evenly contested competition for many years. Despite this, it is weaker in some senses; the quality of players spread throughout the league for one.

Whenever you increase the number of clubs in the division it is immediately weakened because the number players of the highest standard become a smaller proportion of the competition as a whole. We`ve had two extra clubs brought in which is an extra fifty players, two squads, added to the pool. Some of these were imports and some were, to be blunt, players who would not have been good enough to play SL previously.

This increases the value of decent solid pros who now command a bigger salary that they could before. Clubs can`t afford them all so some move on and clubs look to former NL players to fill up their squads. So the lower standard players aren`t just employed by the new clubs they are spread throughout SL.

We`ve brought in a Welsh club which, eventually, will increase the footprint of rugby league and therefore, eventually, increase the player pool. This is progressive and the right thing to do, but in the meantime we can`t pretend it doesn`t lower standards.

By the way, I agree that Saints are well ahead as the dominant club but to pretend that the Bulls are only similar to Leeds is a bit rich. On `pots` won and finals played we are clearly second and clear of third by some margin!

The Leeds 04 team is my preferred one over 2007, 2008 and 2009, and is up there with the Saints team of 06 and the Bulls team of 03, therefore a better comparison with the Bulls team of 2003 than the Rhinos team of 2009

Except the 04 side only won 1 GF. The current team has remained pretty much in tact through all 3 successive victories (which is what I'm guessing the OP was referring to).

That said quite a few players in that 04 squad are in the 09 squad - particularly the spine of the team - McGuire, Burrow, Diskin and Sinfield, important players like Senior and Lauitiiti and other players like JJB and Bailey. That's 8 players with 4 GF winners rings.

I remember in 2004 before our qualifying playoff game one of your fans held aloft the sign ''show us your trophies''.

4 super league titles later I guess we can.

But do you know who he is though? Because if not, I guess you can't.

SPAWY LEEDS RHIONS WIN!! SHOULD ST HELENS WINS !!!

Absolutely! Enjoy...for it won't last forever!

I think this says it all

Are you sure? . . . . . .

OK, I give up.

Can't for the life of me work out what that is an anagram of...

Caster Semenya

The South african runner accused of being a hermaphrodite


Is an anagram of "Yes a secret man"


Random, but adey's post reminded me of it.

Classic.

Why,

... of course!

Jamie Jones only has 3

as our captain has already aluded to after the gf win,most of our current squad could go elsewhere and earn more money,sl is more even now than at any time previously,so the fact that all clubs are able to spend the same money on players,makes the rhinos three in a row title success even more remarkable imo.
some clubs have won the gf and have exceded the salary cap limit in the process,we havn't
the best run club in sl springs to mind

but Jamie Jones Buchanan
has 4!

It is a pointless argument comparing teams of different eras. You can only judge a team by it's competitors and you would have to say that the current Leeds team has been more dominant over a longer period than either Bradford or Saints were at their best.