It’s time to ensure the cap fits all to provide level playing field

For all the talk of the competition increasing in strength it is still as predictable as the ubiquitous last-play kick hoisted to the corner.

Cast an eye over the four contenders vying for next weekend’s Grand Final and it is abundantly clear not much has changed since its formative years.

Wigan Warriors, St Helens and Leeds Rhinos will renew rivalries again along with a Warrington Wolves club that has usurped the once mighty Bradford Bulls in the only alteration to the status quo.

While Warrington have yet to appear in a Grand Final since its 1998 inception, Saints could reach Old Trafford for a sixth successive year, Leeds hope to win a fourth title in five seasons and Wigan are hunting back-to-back glories.

If familiarity does breed contempt, then Super League is under a vicious attack.

The game’s repetitive nature is the most pressing concern for a man leaving it all behind to return to his native Australia.

Departing Castleford Tigers head coach Terry Matterson has spent the last six years at Wheldon Road, earning plaudits for the manner in which he has developed his side on an inferior budget to so many. Before that, the revered ex-Brisbane Broncos star also experienced the advent of Super League as a player, captaining London Broncos as the summer era began before retiring in 1998.

Having witnessed the competition’s evolution, or lack of, he believes it is time for some significant changes to help make it as attractive as the NRL, where he heads back to be North Queensland Cowboys’ assistant.

“I don’t think a whole lot has changed as far as the easiness of the competition,” he told the Yorkshire Post.

“It’s a really good game between certain teams but as the season goes on there’s still that gulf between top and bottom.

“The main reason is you’ve only got eight teams spending the £1.7m salary cap and the other six aren’t; that’s the bottom line.

“We need to find a way where we can get everyone spending the full cap; that’s why the NRL is such a good, close competition.

“Over there, year in, year out you probably see four or five clubs that make the semis one season don’t make it the next.”

Matterson is not simply plucking numbers from thin air; in the last five seasons alone, four NRL clubs which reached the top eight have failed to do so the following year and the leading quartet regularly changes.

The NRL itself ensures such competitiveness by helping to fund around 75 per cent of each club’s spend – owners are only asked to find the rest – but that is an unrealistic for the RFL.

However, Matterson, pictured right, fears the worst here with more demoralising results to come unless the playing field is levelled out.

“We don’t want it to be like the Premier League where the top two or three win every year,” he says. “That seems to be the case at the moment. At the same time, you don’t want clubs going broke like has happened in the past.

“Relegation has been a big cause of that as clubs try to stay up. Cas’ have managed their finances really well, having been in the midst of two relegations.

“However, they also find it very hard to compete. If the full squad is fit we can – as we saw at the start of the year – but we just haven’t got the depth.

“It’s no good being on the end of a 60-point scoreline but that’s what happens if seven to 10 players are missing. Wigan and Warrington can cope with that; teams like Cas can’t.”

Matterson added: “I still think it’s very similar to ’96 in that there’s a top four challenging.

“A couple are trying to get in – Huddersfield have done well to be on the edge – but everyone generally thinks there’s Wigan, Warrington, Saints and Leeds.

“It’d be great to see a really competitive eight; realistically, now, you know who’s going to be in the six and we’re all fighting for two spots. We need to find a way of helping the clubs. Maybe the RFL could fund some more.”

Matterson also believes there needs to be more consistency in both the judiciary system and the standard of refereeing – “from one ref to another, I just don’t think they’re ever on the same page” – but feels progress is being made in junior development.

He said: “They are coming through bigger, stronger and better while there’s more to pick.

“The amount of outside backs which have emerged in the last year or two means (England coach) Steve McNamara is going to have a greater base to select from. That’s been the big issue.”

And he is adamant what he will miss most: “The passion. The atmosphere at Wheldon Road with 8,000 fans is as good as anywhere. I love all the tribalism. That’s what all Aussies and Kiwi players agree on; you don’t get that passion back home.”