The Rugby Football League will reveal the IMG gradings for 2025 on Thursday this week – and it’s set to be the start of an incredibly dramatic few days for the sport.
There will be at least one new name going straight into Super League, or at least that is the expectation with Salford Red Devils likely to drop out of the top 12. Who that will be remains a mystery for now.
But we don’t have long to find out. The RFL have already confirmed a number of clubs have increased their scores significantly from last year – some by a big margin.
Who might those clubs be? Here’s a bit of an insight..
Hull KR
It’s not going to matter too much because they’re a Grade A club in every sense of the word. But Rovers are going to have a big leap on their overall score – driven by one area in particular.
Hull KR’s performance score is going to go up by over a full point on the whole, thanks in no small part to the one bonus point they get through winning the Challenge Cup and the Super League Grand Final.
But their average score has gone up too, meaning a big leap across the board for a club doing incredible things on and off the field. With their attendances going up too, there’s no better time for a Rovers fan. They could end up right near the top of the overall gradings.
Bradford Bulls
The Bulls’ score is going up: and it’s going up by a lot. Whether it’s enough for them to make the top 12 remains to be seen but there is no doubting that they are going to be right in the mix with a number of clubs to replace Salford Red Devils, who appear to be inevitably dropping out.
As has been discussed earlier this summer, the fact Bradford scored the lowest possible score on their stadium criteria 12 months ago is going to hugely benefit them this time. Yes, there are question marks over Odsal as a top-level facility but just like other clubs have, the Bulls will play the system and the cards dealt in front of them.
They’re going to need a big leap – they were on 12.15 points last year and 12th-placed Salford scored 13.97 – but a big leap is exactly what is coming. We don’t have long to wait to see if it is enough.
York Knights
Bradford aren’t the only Championship hopefuls about to put some good points on their score. Like the Bulls, York believe they will be in and around a score of 14 points – and it’s going to be very tight.
York have made great strides on the performance front, and while they don’t get anything extra for stadium, they will improve in areas like finance too.
But there is a nagging feeling from some that missing out on the 0.25 bonus points for winning the Championship Grand Final could be big. Making the 12 automatically might be a step too far for the Knights, but they’ll definitely see their score go up.
Leigh Leopards
Already confirmed as a Grade A club in 2024, there’s every chance Leigh are going to see another increase in the score this time around.
That’s evident on two fronts already. We revealed last week how the Leopards are the only Super League club whose attendance score will rise by 0.5 points.
And that will jump up to over a full point when you add in a rise of almost 0.6 points on performance. With little room to drop, then Leigh are another club on the rise.
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