SUPER League needs a revamp – starting with its now meaningless name that has been overtaken in association by Women’s football and an aborted breakaway by soccer’s European elite.

Over the next couple of weeks we will play Devil’s Advocate to present different arguments on what form the shake-up at top levels of the sport is needed for rugby league to have any chance of growing its support, exposure, revenue and TV interest.

But for now, here is the historical context since the advent of Super League to show how we have ended up with the current top flight of 12.

For a competition that is often viewed as a closed shop, the turnover in Super League since the inaugural 1996 season may surprise some with seven of the original combatants no longer in the top flight.

Admittedly, most of that change came in the early years with the likes of Workington Town, Oldham and Paris being the first very early casualties followed by Sheffield Eagles and Halifax, and then finally in 2014 London Broncos and Bradford Bulls.

Admittedly Broncos did manage to bounce back for the 2019 season in which they were desperately unlucky not to cling on.

Others have come and gone, although some of those hope to return; Widnes, Leigh, Celtic Crusaders, Gateshead and Toronto.

Widnes were doubly unlucky; missing out on the first call to the inaugural Super League after taking a dip from their strong early late 80s and 90s position. 

And once they won their place back in 2002 they losy it three years later when two teams were relegated to accomodate Catalans.  

Only four teams – Saints, Wigan, Warrington and Leeds – have played in every top-flight season with Castleford Tigers being the only other current Super League side who competed in that inaugural season.

So how do we view the progress?

The first year – on paper – the sport’s self-styled elite competition arguably had a greater geographical reach with the cities of Leeds, London, Paris, Sheffield and Bradford complemented by towns considered rugby league hotbeds like Cumbrian outpost Workington and prolific player nursery Oldham.

There have been successes since; the return of both Hull clubs, whose support probably helped keep rugby league afloat during the early eighties depression, is welcome as is the way they feed off and annoy each other like any pair of great rivals should.

The establishment of Catalans Dragons in the rugby league heartland of Perpignan has added plenty to the sport since their elevation to Super League in 2006, even if it is an element the game has not truly maximised yet.

The other clubs largely earned their places on merit from the Championship, although Huddersfield were given a two-year reprieve of finishing bottom before getting the old three strikes and you are out treatment.

Those three seasons in Super League probably allowed the Giants to build the resilience to bounce back at the first attempt.

This was, after all, a team that had been out of rugby league’s top tier since 1978-79. Sadly that long time out of the top flight has probably had a lasting impact on their gates – and despite a quality roster and success on the field they still struggle to pack them into the Galpharm Stadium.

Of the current crop who have found a way back to the top-flight, Hull KR and Salford have also bounced back after a relegation.

Wakefield have clung on like grim death, despite some bleak years including 2011 when they went into administration and maybe it was only the demise of Crusaders that allowed Trinity in through the following year’s licence.

And apart from going to a Million Pound decider against Bradford in 2015, Trinity have defied the odds to continually squeeze quality performances out of an often unheralded roster.

Essentially what we have had since 2016 is minor change, Hull KR went down but came back up.

Widnes were relegated in 2018 and their place has been shared for the past four years by London, Toronto, Leigh and now Toulouse.

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Those teams have struggled to retain their spots because it is virtually impossible, given the timescale after promotion is won, to build a full-time team of sufficient quality to live with the long-established clubs.

So whether we like it or not the 11 clubs who have largely made up Super League for the past 10 years are here and pretty difficult to shift.

But how far is this from the original vision of the elite competition and the ideas set out in Framing the Future?

Super League is largely a cluster of flagship clubs alongside a host of others whose place has been secured by a combination of wealthy owners, shrewd recruitment, tight management and of course performances on the pitch.

It is telling that only four clubs - Saints, Wigan, Leeds and the fallen giants Bradford - have won the Super League in 26 seasons, this despite the likes of Warrington, Catalans and Hull FC throwing plenty at it in terms of recruitment.

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Every now and then a Salford or a Cas will over-achieve and poke their way in, but on the whole is the competition largely decided by the same old faces?

So what is the solution? Licensing, more expansion clubs, scrapping the salary cap, two league of 10 or expanding the Super League to 14 or 16 and scrapping the loops.

The first argument for change will appear online tomorrow.