...is to compete with football and encourage some rich arab oil sheikhs or Russian oligarchs to invest in SL clubs and pay vastly inflated salaries, thus attracting more potential young talent into having a go in the junior leagues.

The solution to beating the Aussies is to steadily grow the sport at all levels, thereby increasing the player pool. Also increased growth would increase the media exposure, raise salaries and improve the attractiveness of a rugby league playing career.

At the same time though there has to be a huge improvement in the too often poor quality of youth and junior coaching.

So who's going to invest the money for those ideals and improvements ?

The RFL initially, then the areas themselves. That's the whole point of growth, it's supposed to be self-sustaining.

As for the improvements in coaching, well it would probably require a bit more investment from the RFL in monitoring coaches after they've passed their course but there are some things that can be done in just changing rules, regulations and sweeping aside the corrupt systems, people and committees that currently blight the amateur game.

For instance, at certain age levels introduce extra points for a try scored with more passes, thereby encouraging teams to pass the ball.
Or finally start to punish clubs who consistently have abusive spectators/coaches/players.

The RFL has been making some hefty profits of late. I think that a lot of that cash would be best used investing in improving the game at the grassroots to encourage more to play the game all over the country and give them better coaching.

I doubt that they're rolling in it though. Wasn't it only a couple of years ago that they announced that they'd finally paid off the debt that the 2000 world cup had cost them?

But what happened to the mega money they got from Sport England, £20+M comes to mind spread over a number of years.
But I seem to recall that being reduced or lost due to a lower than predicted level of active participation.

A combination of an end to the "my club first and foremost" culture that sees representative rugby reduced to an afterthought, an increase in junior participation (hopefully the shift to summer will help in this regard) and earlier access to the best coaches for elite young players,

It's no use giving a talented kid a couple of days coaching at a service area camp if he then goes back to two nights a week from a well meaning but ultimately clueless volunteer at his club.

The key thing is that the RFL is generally clueless, and struggles to organise the mens teams games in the summer conference / early challenge cup games.

I agree that we should put a focus on junior, but I can't see the RFL being able to do it effectively

IMO we have tried too hard to try and beat the Aussies at their own game. For most of my time the Aussies always seemed to produce bigger, fitter physical specimens who, with certain notable exceptions, played a robotic style with few errors. Whilst we used to produce the cleverer ball players with individual skills and an abundance of great half backs and tough forwards that gave as good as they got and who collectively on their day could occassionally beat the Aussies as they were not used to coping with these sort of skills.

We now seem to be second best in the handling department, have no great half backs and no enforcers in the pack and never can beat the Aussies. Until we once again produce these typical British style players we will continue to be the just the bridesmaid.

The bridemaid in our own country, and usually only struggling to obtain the rank of Usher down under

Find a 6, 7 and 9 who can pass and kick the ball quickly and accurately and make the right decisions.
I'd go back to the old rule whereby if the dummy half is tackled in possession then it's a handover (or scrum)