IMG gradings changes revealed as major loophole closed and key alterations made

Changes to IMG’s gradings system look set to be circulated among clubs in the coming days – but any notion of major wholesale changes are unlikely, Love Rugby League has been told.

The gradings system is now fully live in the sport, with all professional clubs receiving a score across a number of different criteria that decides who plays in Super League each and every year.

However, IMG and RL Commercial admitted in the wake of the first rollout that tweaks could always be possible – and that now looks set to be the case for 2025. But there is no suggestion that the system will get a major overhaul, with only a handful of areas within the gradings likely to receive alterations.

One of those is fandom, with the criteria set to become much tougher for clubs to score points based on their interactions and performance online. There are currently 1.5 points available for digital performance, which includes a maximum of 0.5 points if a club secures over 60,000 visitors to their website in a year-long period.

Love Rugby League has been told that every single club in the professional pyramid ticked that box this year, and it is now likely the highest bracket will be pushed up to make the criteria even tougher to achieve in 2025.

Sources from clubs have also indicated that they expect the criteria surrounding broadcast viewing figures to be tweaked going into 2025.

READ NEXT: Hull KR on Sky most in 2025 with every Super League club ranked by TV appearances

With every Super League game now available to watch on either Sky Sports, BBC or SuperLeague+ next year, there is an expectation the thresholds may be changed. Currently, clubs get 1 point if they average over 150,000 viewers in a three-year period for their games.

Community is another area that could be tweaked – with clubs potentially being able to add new areas to their footprint and defined region.

That could yet be significant news for a club like London Broncos – who were of the opinion they would rank extremely highly based on area population given the size of the capital. However, the rules dictated that only the population of the local council the club play in counts: which means for the Broncos, the borough of Merton – little over 200,000 – counts.

But that could now change in 2025.

But any other changes seem unlikely at this stage, it is understood. There had been some noises from clubs in Super League and the Championship about a possible request to tighten up the finance section of the criteria.

Owners and investors are allowed to put money into clubs before the grading deadline to improve the balance sheet and secure extra points in the finance criteria. They are also able to write off funds invested as sponsorship – and there had been a suggestion those loopholes could be tightened for 2025.

Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont, whose own club benefitted from that to secure a Grade A this year, argued that the system was unfair to clubs without a wealthy benefactor.

But the financial aspect of the criteria looks likely to be largely unchanged in 2025 – with only minor modifications to the gradings.

READ NEXT: My Ultimate Team: Chris Thorman’s best 13 of team-mates including London Broncos and NRL legends