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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 3141299, member: 1899"] Teams obviously go through big changes at their own pace, but I definitely think there's seasons that really shake up the competition. Usually it coincides with big name retirements/serious injuries, rule changes or salary cap changes. 2002 - The gang tackle comes into vogue after a season of limited interchanges. Most if not all salary cap concessions have been revoked making it a far more even competition, Sydney and Canterbury establish themselves as the powerhouses of the competition. 2005 - Fittler retires, Johns is still struggling with his knee reconstruction leaving a fairly open competition. Melbourne, Cronulla, Brisbane, Parramatta, St George all make strong claims for the title but in the end Wests happen to be playing the best footy come October. In response, Melbourne master the wrestle and only lose in a grand final to the Broncos who happen to have the best dummy half runners in the competition (Hodges, Berrigan & Tate). The ruck dominates the competition until... 2009 - The two referee system is brought into police the wrestle. Melbourne, Manly and Cronulla suffer because of it while St George, Canterbury and Parramatta rocket into contention. Melbourne still win the competition but are later found to be nearly $2 million over the cap. Melbourne and Manly eventually adjust and both go onto win legitimate premierships. 2013 - A revised salary cap is brought in last minute and the Roosters go on a recruitment spree. SBW, Maloney, Jennings, O'Donnell all come to the club and the former strugglers are transformed into heavyweights who go onto dominate the competition for the next three years. Melbourne and Manly begin to show their age, Brisbane are going through post-Locky and Bennett is wasting everybody's time at Newcastle. 2017 - A new salary cap is brought in and some teams handle it better than others. Sydney who cleared out the decks early are in the prime position to retain their top prospects and two elite players in Cronk and Tedesco. A reduced set of interchanges were brought into fatigue players, if anything it just creates more rests periods which brings a lot of the defensive teams into contention. Meanwhile Canterbury, Gold Coast and Wests completely lose the plot with their cap and spend the next few years paying the price. [/QUOTE]

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