There are a couple of things SL sides can do much better that don't need better athletes etc. One is cut down the errors. It really makes me cringe at times watching SL sides or the national team against the Aussies, because the error rate is dreadful. The stats might not show it, but its the unforced errors that are the biggest problem (particularly dropping the ball on contact) and the position on the field when it happens. Its not by accident that time and again our teams cough the ball up close to our own line but the Aussies don't. its because its punished ruthlessly in the NRL, and simply isn't in SL. But even with that, all clubs and players could do better with hard work.
Another is the kicking game. A full time pro halfback ought to be able to do far better than aimlessly kick the ball into the full backs arms every time, or make aimless attacking kicks (also requires the outside backs to train more as well but you get my point). Do SL halfbacks not train at this?
It should be remembered that Souths revamped their entire threequarter line last year. In 2013 they had a big pack, Greg Inglis and Reynolds' kicking game. Last year most of the 2-5 was new - big, strong and (Tuqiri apart) quick). Because when it came to the crunch in 2013 they simply didn't have enough points in them (and in fact the Dogs team they faced in the final had exactly the same problem out wide). As has been said, the chances are they'll lose more players over the next couple of years as the young backs demand pay rises. But they were no more dominant last year than the Roosters the year before.
I'd also add that if anything people here claim that the NRL is more robotic than ever. What you see with Souths cutting loose is that the robotic play actually enables the off the cuff play to be more effective, as the supposedly "robotic" players have the ability to time and make passes under pressure more reliably than otherwise.
I am the hash browns of rlfans 
