NOT much has been made of the fact that this is the 20th Super League campaign.

This season’s new format, with the s splitting into three divisions after 23 rounds and the reintroduction of promotion and relegation, has hogged the media spotlight.

Those of us who were following the sport back in ’96 probably try not to think about it too much – makes you realise how time is flying by and how the wrinkles on the forehead have multiplied.

However, seeing pictures last week of Iestyn Harris playing for Culcheth Eagles sent my mind back to the era when he was the new kid on the block in primrose and blue – the world his oyster.

I feel 20 seasons is a feat worthy of recognition, especially in our town with the turnaround in fortunes of Warrington Wolves.

The way the club was heading into oblivion in the early days of Super League – at one point within days of possibly going bust in the late 1990s when a planned takeover by a consortium of businesses fell through – seems light years away from Wolves’ standing in the game now as major players.

Prior to ’96, the vast majority of players were part-time, the playing season was late August to early May, there was no Halliwell Jones Stadium, no Grand Final in the northern hemisphere, no ‘Wolves’ element to the club’s brand – even Wolfie hadn’t been born.

In truth, the game was suffering from monopoly. Wigan, the only full-time professional outfit prior to Super League, had all the money, virtually all the international players and nearly all the trophies.

Stadiums were no longer fit for purpose, attendances were dwindling – generally, standards were sliding.

Things have changed for the better in many ways, though some would have preferred faster progress. For example, clubs like Warrington and St Helens now have modern grounds and facilities – but we still have Wheldon Road and Belle Vue in Castleford and Wakefield crumbling away.

The game is faster now, helped by drier and firmer grounds, but you have to credit the skills of the pre-Super League era players for the flair, finesse and ball handling displayed on many a mud-bath pitch.

There were a lot of question marks about changing the playing season but when I think back about watching and playing rugby league in downpours, gales, hail and snow, I do wonder now why the change had not been confronted earlier. Grassroots rugby league eventually followed suit.

The game continues to evolve, followers remain critical of decisions that are made and not made but all in the spirit of wanting the best for a much-loved sport. But rugby league is in a better place now than in the years before Super League.