A LOOK at the current Super League table and I am reminded of the Parable of the Workers; The first shall be last and the last shall be first……

And 21 years after Hull, Wakefield and Salford were left out of the inaugural Super League and even Castleford were being encouraged to merge to secure their status, the four of them are up there.

At long last it appears that the salary cap is doing what it was brought in to do — level the playing field and make the division competitive.

No longer can the big clubs simply throw a bit more cash at the players of these teams and expect them to jump ship.

The name of your team and size of your ground means nothing

In a sport where all clubs spend up to the cap the only things which will separate the wheat from the chaff is recruiting the right players and the quality of the coaching.

Coaching wise, Daryl Powell, Chris Chester and Ian Watson are an absolute credit to the British game.

A look down the rosters at Salford, Cas and Wakefield and you see players who would have been at Leeds, Saints, Warrington and Wigan not so long ago.

After years in which the game, particularly Super League, has been dominated by the same old faces it is refreshing.

This used to be the norm before Wigan blew the model out of the water in the mid 80s.

Just look down the list of Champions in the 1970s and 80s revealed the variety – Leeds, Dewsbury, Salford, Saints, Widnes, Hull KR, Bradford, Leigh and Hull. In fact it seemed like anyone but Warrington could win the league.

The game’s predictability – the development of the big four, even under years of cap, was off putting.

The smaller clubs may be enjoying their days in the sun. But is it all positive news?

Let’s throw a few more issues into the ring.

If you are a club who has invested heavily in training facilities, a new ground and junior and youth development, there may be a feeling that they have a right to certain privileges and rewards.

Plenty of the big clubs are no doubt itching to spend more on the team to restore the balance their way, but it needs to be done in a just way.

The league table reflects purely an investment in your top squad and coach, and although big club status does not earn rewards what they do in the day-to-day should.

When it comes to cap, there should be far greater dispensation to players who have been nurtured through a club’s system.

That would be a huge incentive to clubs to grow their own players and reward those who do the right thing.

As we cheer to rise of the minnows, and say how good for the game it is, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.

Hopefully, if those new boys make it through to Old Trafford in October it will invigorate those towns and cities and prove that the game does not need Leeds, Warrington, Hull, Saints or Wigan to be there to make it a success.

And in return, hopefully they too will grow their support base and invest as heavily in facilities and junior development to make their contribution to the collective pot.