For me it was at the 2007 grand final, when that star studded Saints side, met Tony Smiths golden young generation.
Wow, what a game. What an atmosphere.
Is sad thinking how on earth we’ve gone from then, to what we see now.....I truly believed it was the greatest game in the world back then.

Yeah for me around mid to late 2000's (in terms of my life time/super league, can't make comment on before that). If you watch clips of games back now, plenty on youtube, you can see a huge difference in terms of the wrestle not existing as a concept in the game then, and attacks being much less formulaic. I think it started to take a turn for the worse in 2010.

And the quality. Example, wigan in 2004 were basically an also ran that year, finished 4th in the regular season, yet they were packed with stars. Farrell, lam, radlinski, newton etc.

Team that day;

Webb
Smith
Toopi
Senior
Donald

Mcguire
Burrow

Leuluai
Diskin
Peacock
JJB
Ellis
Sinfield

Reps:
Kirke
Lauititi
Bailey
Ablett


What a side!

That team wins the current competition for the next 5 years.

But for the rugby gods it almost did back then

Can anyone list the Saints team? just to show the quality of that game........

I watched al the " threepeat " finals last week and then the grand finale 2015 and 2017 marvelous.

Saints team that day:

Wellens
Gardener
Gidley
Talau
Meli

Price
Long

Fozzard
Cunningham
Cayless

Gilmour
Flannery

Wilkin


Reps:
Roby(Man of Steel that year)
Graham
Bennett
Faa'savalu

Another great side

mid 2005 played our best rugby then cuthbo in 2015

In the '80s I thought it was in the '70s.
In the '90s I thought it was in the '80s.
In the '00s I thought it was in the '90s.
In the '10s I thought it was in the '00s.
Now I think it was in the '10s.

Ten years from now we'll be all good about the current era, especially with games like this afternoons.

Very well put. Personally in terms of Leeds 2003 to 2009, but in terms of the sport as a whole 90 to 94, when GB were standing toe to toe with the Aussies, was very special.

eastwood half an hour to kick an misses - wembley with powell dixon an gibson was special