Next season may not look like it will be better than this season based on the squad we will have but luckily for us warrington and wigan look to be weaker. Hull look like they will improve again (which is good for SL) and catalan will again be in the mix for the 4 but i am yet to be impressed by any of saints youngsters other than lomax and gaskell and suspect they may regret appointing nathan brown. Wigan have lost 2 quality half backs and replaced them with good but nothing special halves, carmont is going and i believe lima is also leaving at the end of the season. This will surely have a detrimental effect on the team. Warringtons 'dads army' will be a year closer to retirement and i doubt any of there key players will improve. (hodgson, monnaghans, briers, morley, westwood etc), there is no marque signings at wire to improve on what they have got.

So although the Leeds squad may be getting weaker and older especially in the forwards although hopefully our backs will improve, I dont think we will drop down the league.

I suspect over the coming years SL may become a bit more competitive but unfortunately by the top getting weaker rather than the bottom getting stronger!!

Next season i think wigan and wire will drop back closer to the chasing pack and unfortunately i suspect that standard of rugby played will drop again!

Well that's very short-sighted of you because you should care. The key to improvements at your club is a healthy competition and that means most/all clubs providing a healthy competitive standard. Without that, we carry on as we are and Leeds carry on as they are just being mediocre and tossing it off against whipping boy SL rabble 3 weeks out of every 4. Improvements in performance rely on being tested week in, week out. Sadly, it's because of the parochial, short-sighted, one-club supporting mentality of folk just like you who infect the game from top to bottom that the sport is in the current predicament that it is. Enjoy your meaningless trip to Headingley tonight for the next meaningless installment of Stupor League.

So it's my fault the SL is so poor?? PMSL!!
All you do is moan or troll every week without offering a viable solution and whilst i agree the top 8 is a farce as is the franchise system my desire to see my team improve especially on SL performaces week in week out is the same as EVERY RL FAN.
My main point was with regards to the possibillity of Wigan or Wires standards dropping as a opossed to us having to actually improve my main focus will always be Leeds Rhinos i buy my ST to watch the Rhinos and hope they improve and entertain not rely on the top 3's standards dropping so we can compete with an ageing squad and lack of recruitment ,Acadamy quality or decent coaching standards.
I'd love the SL to be 12 or even 10 teams but the Sky £££££ seems to dictate otherwise as id like to see a top 6 or 5.
As for "infecting the game" should we not support our local team then?
Who else should i buy a ST for?
Also who the f##k are you to question anybodys support for RL or their team!

The problem with Jeff's tirade about SL is that the game was dead on its feet before they came knocking. Jeff's looks back with rose tinted glasses - he even seems to think - why I don not know - that we were getting closer to Aussies and if it hadn't been for SL we would have been beating them by now!!

If you want to see the future of rugby league then keep an eye on Newcastle Falcons in the second division of the English Rugby Union a full time professional team vs the rest of the league of either part time "professionals" or those who couldn't get a contract at a top flight club.

Thats what will happen if you only want your team to win at any cost, thats what happens when you don't really care how strong your opposition is as long as you beat them every week.

Again i should have been clearer with my response it was more aimed at the fact that the OP seems to think there may a silver lining for us in that Wigan and Wire may not be as strong next year thus giving us more chance to get closer without improving ourselves and reading back i can see why my initial post can give the impression you've taken.
I want my team to improve and NOT rely on others weakness' or lack of progress to get us closer.
However i still think 14 clubs is too much and the top 8 system is a farce.