LAST week the RFL came up with three possible options to revamp the league structure as part of the game’s strategy to deal with the challenges it is facing now – ones that are not going to go away.

At least it is recognition that all is not hunky-dory in the game and that simply trotting out mantras about the ‘best Super League ever’ no longer washes.

It is obvious the game in this country faces a threat, especially that of a brawn and brain drain to the all powerful NRL.

In the 1970s that threat was dealt with by the ban on players transferring between Australia and Britain, but such a policy would not last five minutes in a court given the ‘restraint of trade’.

The other big difference since the inception of the licensing system is the state of the economy.

Again, short of the RFL converting Chancellor George Osborne into Keynesian economics and pumping money into the former industrial towns that provide the backbone to our game, there is little we can do about that.

We have to work around the fact that cash will continue to be tight in places like St Helens, Wigan, Widnes and Castleford.

But are some of rugby league’s problems not self inflicted?

When licensing was brought in and Super League expanded to 14 teams in 2009 it was generally accepted that there would be an initial dilution of quality, but that Celtic Crusaders would have the same effect on the British game as NZ Warriors did in the NRL.

Well that was blown out of the water after one year – and yet it was allowed to drag into the second phase of licensing.

With quality recruits coming from Oz drying up there is not enough top drawer talent to keep a 14 team league.

It has also created a players market in which agents must be loving the balance of demand over supply.

The second own goal is the convoluted top eight play-off that renders the league campaign largely meaningless and diminishes the knockout stages.

So any new system has to restore natural reward and order to the league ladder and then make the play-offs a dynamic finale.

Here are the proposals to be put before the meetings of Super League and Championships clubs for the 2015 season onwards: Option 1 sees Super League reverting to 12-teams with one club promoted and relegated each year.

Option 2 is a two-division Super League, each comprising 10 teams.

The most complicated one is option 3 which sees 12-team Tier One competition and 12-team Tier Two competition that splits, in position order, into three groups of eight in mid-season.

The clubs in each group would play each other home and away before concluding with play-offs.

Before anyone is tempted by the frills of the last option, let’s remember league is our weekly bread and butter.

You know where you are with a fixture card published in December, give or take the odd Sky change.

Supporters want regularity if they are to make a commitment to buy season tickets.

For me, it has to be option one, with a top five play off, the worst team relegated and a separate extra early season round robin type competition to make up the fixture shortfall.