wiggn2:
I think it's great that Hull KR are mixing things up. Some of their fans are annoying and OTT but all clubs have them. The press seem to be lapping them up as well but I think that's a result of not having much else to talk about...
Though the last few years has solidified my opinion that our league just cannot support more than 2 or 3 decent teams at once - we just don't have the player base, quality coaches or youth setups to spread across that many clubs. If you look at the teams that have dropped off - Saints, Leeds and arguably Wire, Catalan, Huddersfield, most of their squad's are terrible but who are they meant to replace them with? There's no player market or an abundance of talent not being selected that clubs can go after.
This is why i believe that every club should have academies and reserves to provide a pool and pathway for players to make it to the top level. Wigan and Saints have done this for years, and its no coincidence they have been successful. The Leeds generation was a mix of signings and home grown talent. I know there is no way you can do it all from just academy players, but you need that in a salary capped sport as they are invariably on reduced salaries when they are breaking through and that increases as they take over from the experienced players
