Wigan Warriors - wiganrugbyfans.com • Re: Rumours and signings v9

I think this is a glimpse of a British RL world minus a salary cap.

Wire would be a very dominant power, but in truth I don't care.

The British domestic game desperately needs stars. I hear what people are saying about spending going out of control, etc, but clubs have gone bust even during the cap era, and at present a bigger danger is surely the lack of publicity we receive. Even Sky, who own us, give us very little on their regular sports bulletins.

In the early 90s, RL was a big brand in Britain, with many of our stars instantly recognisable all over the country. Most
non-northerners probably couldn't name any of them now.

It's also the case that we need quality. Before this season was curtailed, you could watch an NRL match on a Friday evening and then follow it with a SL game, and it was often like two different sports. In comparison, the British game appeared to lack pace and flare. I'm not sure that many of the recent big-name signings will add that tremendously, if I'm honest. I fear that Widdop, Williams and Inglis are past it. But even off form they'll likely rip it up in some matches, and their names alone will do much of the rest (and maybe will attract other players, and maybe even some decent coaches).

The big danger now, of course, is that our good old mates in Yorkshire, who, noticing they are dropping behind again, suddenly want to tighten the salary cap. If SL allow this to happen it really will be the end of us as a professional sport.