Ranking every Super League club’s final IMG performance score after 2024 season concludes

With the 2024 Super League season concluded, attention will now begin to turn to England’s upcoming autumn internationals: but also IMG’s official gradings later this month.

Every club in the professional game will find out their official score out of a maximum of 20 points at the end of this month. 15 points guarantees you a Grade A licence from IMG and immunity from relegation out of Super League – a threshold a number of clubs are certain to reach.

One of the major components of the grading system is performance. Clubs can secure a maximum of 4 points based on how they have performed over the last three league seasons, with league position and progression in the play-offs factored in.

The Super League champions are deemed to have finished 1st, irrespective of their placing on the table after 27 rounds. 2nd goes to the Grand Final runners-up, 3rd to the highest-ranking losing semi-finalist and 4th to the lowest-ranking semi-finalist.

5th and 6th goes to the two sides who lose in the opening round of the play-offs, with 5th the highest-ranked side, and 6th the lowest.

So with the play-offs now over and Wigan Warriors champions once again, it’s possible to map out how the 11 Super League clubs – excluding London Broncos, who will return to the Championship – in 2024 will fare.

Here’s how every club will score.

Wigan Warriors: 4.0000 points

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s the all-conquering reigning Super League champions who will claim maximum points in this aspect of the grading. Their last three league finishes are classed as 3rd, 1st and 1st, meaning they have the best average across the last three seasons of any club.

Likely to score very high in almost all the other criteria too, don’t be surprised if it’s the Warriors who are top of the IMG rankings later this month.

St Helens: 3.8857 points

The Saints come in second – largely due to the league finishes they secured in 2022 and 2023. They won the title in 2022, meaning they were classed as 1st, before a 3rd-placed finish last year after losing in the play-off semi-finals.

This year, they were 6th after going out in the first round of the play-offs: but their average is still healthy enough to put them just behind the Warriors.

Hull KR: 3.7714 points

Hull KR are third on this list, securing a healthy points tally – and they jump up massively on last year’s provisional gradings due to their second-placed finish this season, courtesy of losing the Grand Final.

Rovers came 8th in 2022 too – a figure which drops off the three-season average next year – meaning they will hopeful of a further increase in 2025 in this aspect of the grading.

Catalans Dragons: 3.6571 points

Although it was a disappointing 2024 for Catalans, they are still trending high on this particular part of the grading due to their strong performance in 2023.

They were sixth in 2022 after going out in the opening round of the play-offs: but they made it all the way to Old Trafford last year, putting them second in 2023.

Salford Red Devils: 3.5429 points

Paul Rowley’s side are another who score well in this part of the grading as they look to push on towards an A grading in the years ahead: perhaps as soon as this year.

They were fourth on the rankings in 2022 due to their play-off progression, seventh last year after failing to make the cut: and fifth this time after going out in the opening round.

Leeds Rhinos: 3.4286 points

Next year is a significant one for the Rhinos in terms of this aspect of the grading. They have registered back-to-back eighth-placed finishes in 2023 and 2024 – but still rank decent enough over a three-season average due to them finishing runners-up in Super League in 2022.

However, that drops off the average next year meaning unless Leeds get to the Grand Final again, their score in this part of the grading is almost certain to go down.

Warrington Wolves: 3.3143 points

That’s in stark contrast to Warrington though – who are going to go up significantly in 2025, you would argue. They are so low down in this part of the grading due to an 11th-placed finish in 2022: which drops off for next year’s gradings.

Their other scores are 6th in 2023, due to them going out in the opening round of the play-offs, and 3rd this time, after reaching the play-off semi-finals.

Leigh Leopards: 3.2000 points

Leigh are another side who will climb next year: and they will do so no matter what. That’s because they’ll be swapping a 13th-placed finish, owing to them winning the Championship in 2022, to wherever they finish in 2025.

This year, they came 4th, and after a 5th-placed finish last year, are primed to sit much higher on this list next year, securing more points as they hunt for a Grade A.

Huddersfield Giants: 3.0857 points

The bottom three perhaps come as no surprise. Huddersfield’s 5th-placed finish from 2022 is going to drop off next year, meaning they’re likely to be in a more perilous position if they don’t improve on-field.

Castleford Tigers: 2.9714 points

Castleford are another who are losing a decent ranking in 2025. They came 7th in 2022, and coupled with finishes of 11th and 10th in the last two seasons, it means they sit 10th in this ranking, failing to secure three points out of the maximum four on offer.

Hull FC: 2.8571 points

Finally, it’s Hull FC. They have finished lower in each of the previous three seasons: 9th, 10th and 11th. That does mean they have the change to improve their standing on this list next year if they improve under John Cartwright. But as for now, they’ll claim just over 2.8 points out of 4.