I think it's really sad time for the game,
@Technical Coach may get his wish and have a free for all , and say hello then to 20 Donkey premierships in a row and no more than about 2 clubs in Sydney, neither of which will be Manly.
Queensland will become the epicentre for the game with GF's all played at Suncorp.
Gee I can't wait !!
You had Melb,Manly and Roosters dominating the last decade up to 2013 with a Salary Cap,Hawthorn and Geelong in the AFL, salary caps are over-rated, it does help to a certain degree equalizing the rest of the comp but not as much as people think.
As teams become more professional and analyze performance from a better perspective(more understanding what makes a difference not just pay squillions on one player to take advantage of semi professional dated coaching structures) you will see new teams come to the fore.
In the past with semi professional or poorly coached teams/structures talented players could more easily look good and influence outcomes, now it is a more team structured coached performance that matters.(even more so in a simple more or less one direction game)
What is more important is a big talent pool to draw upon so all teams can grab quality players and let the coaching and team structures elevate teams to the top---investing big time in junior development not some weak ass catch cry feel good line for the papers and not delivering.
A small talent pool just means the top teams will have the available talent and the rest have such a big drop off compared to the top teams they look semi professional.
Yes in the short to medium term teams will go broke if they are overly reliant on paying overs to a lack of thought based purchases on over-rated talent.
We need to develop the game in growth areas to increase the talent pool so there is a big enough player base for all teams to have talent.
The past has shown the teams with money win the premierships in most comps around the world but i think it's weighted value has reached a peak now and you will see more teams around the world rise from the perspective of taking different approaches or buying the right kind of talent to suit a team structure or philosophy.