The NRL is the cleanest it's been, expansion is unlikely before the 2015 season and the health of the game has never been stronger than it is in 2011.
They was the main themes coming out of NRL headquarters on Wednesday as CEO David Gallop on released his annual State of the Game report.
While the threat of the AFL in Western Sydney and the astonishing numbers in television figures were notable topics from the report, Gallop was particularly pleased with the strides the NRL has made in cleaning up the game in recent years.
Even with the fallout from the wild brawl involving Manly and Melbourne in Round 25 which saw 12 players charged and a total of 16 weeks in suspensions, the 2011 season has been the cleanest on record.
In all, there were 70 charges laid and a total of 53 playing weeks lost this season, the lowest on record, and a huge drop compared to the 196 weeks lost back in 2004.
The NRL boss said it was clear proof the game's governing body was serious about getting rid of foul play and attracting kids to the sport.
"It might surprise a few people given the last couple of weeks but there's been a dramatic drop in the number of weeks in suspension," Gallop said.
"That is actually a trend that is tracking over the last few years."
"As I've said in the last fortnight that we've been through, we're in the market for engaging kids and families in our game."
"Foul play, violence, protracted fighting, that is not going to endear us to families who are considering getting involved in the game."
While crowd levels dropped slightly (0.6 per cent) it was nothing compared to rival codes with the AFL (5.5 per cent), Super Rugby (8 per cent) and A-League (15 per cent) all suffering significant drops.
But the NRL continued to lead the way in TV ratings with rugby league responsible for 74 of the 100 most watched programs on subscription television.
Gallop also nominated the 2015 season as the right time for the game to expand its number of teams, preferring to stabilise the current clubs once a new TV deal is reached next year.
He said it was vital the NRL got their expansion model right to ensure the competition remains even and could take a shot at the AFL.
"You want to be producing high-quality games on every weekend, in every slot and that's what rugby league's doing at the moment," he said.
"It didn't go unnoticed that in our game only our third place was locked away as we went into Round 26, whereas the AFL had announced their finals series for week one already."
"That uncertainty, that unpredictability and that closeness of our competition shouldn't go unnoticed when people compare us to the AFL."
Asked how he felt the AFL would go trying to establish themselves in Western Sydney, Gallop said: "It will be tough."
"They've made some big gambles on some of the things they've done to try and make those expansion teams strong."
"The level of disgruntlement in their existing clubs is building all the time so i think it will be tough because the more I see of our game the more I realise what a generational level of support it's got."
"You risk a whole lot of things if you tamper with (the competition) by giving concessions around salary caps and drafts, favouring one team over another."
"You will risk quality of your competition and the closeness of your games and quite frankly i think that what we're seeing in the AFL."