How many IMG points every Super League club’s attendances would be worth: with crucial ruling explained
We are now only around two months away from finding out which 12 clubs will be in Super League in 2025 as IMG’s reimagining of rugby league goes live for the first time.
Clubs will be able to score a maximum of 20 points in a variety of areas: some of them we will not know too much about until after the results are published in October, but some we can already begin to plot out.
One of those in the latter bracket is attendances. That falls under the fandom category, which awards clubs points on things like social media followings, engagements and, perhaps most crucially of all, the amount of people a club gets through the turnstiles each and every week.
With that in mind, as the final weeks of the season approaches and the average crowd figure for each club unlikely to change too much, here’s how every Super League club – and those hovering outside of Super League hoping to get in – could hope to score.
A reminder of the brackets
Any club with an average of over 7,500 fans gets the maximum 2.50 points on offer. For a crowd figure between 3,000 and 7,499, it is 2.00 points. Anyone with a crowd figure between 1,500 and 2,999 gets 1.50 points.
We have taken the 12 current Super League teams and the two in the Championship perceived to be closest to getting into the top-flight next year: Toulouse and Wakefield Trinity. Here’s what their crowds this year would generate them points-wise.
But there is a crucial catch. The points handed out by IMG are based on an average over the last THREE seasons. So it’s what a team averaged in 2022, 2023 and 2024 what matters, not just this season. Without further ado..
All data is sourced with the help of Rugby League Project and includes data up to Round 20 of this season in Super League.
Castleford Tigers: 2.50
Castleford are arguably the most intriguing club of them all in this bracket. With their last three seasons’ total, the Tigers have an average just a few dozen over the magic 7,500: 7,547 – meaning that as things stand, they get maximum points: just.
Catalans Dragons: 2.50
Most other clubs are fairly straightforward based on the data we have sourced. Take Catalans, for example; their average from 2022, 2023 and 2024 is 8,716 – more than enough for full points.
Huddersfield Giants: 2.00
The Giants, as you would expect, do not do enough in terms of crowds to get full points. Their average over the last three years is 5,148 – almost 2,500 short of the top threshold.
Hull FC: 2.50
Less drama for the two Hull clubs, though. The Black and Whites in particular average almost 11,500 over the last three seasons – so that’s one area they will definitely score full points.
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Hull KR: 2.50
We think Rovers will be the same – but with the secrecy surrounding their crowd figures you can never be quite sure. However, it looks like they have an average around 8,600 over the last three years, with this year the best.
Leeds Rhinos: 2.50
Plenty going wrong at Leeds in recent years but one thing that isn’t: their crowds. The Rhinos average 13,418 over the last three seasons, one of the highest in the whole country.
Leigh Leopards: 2.00
Leigh are averaging over 8,000 this season – but they haven’t enough on the board historically to get into the top bracket. They only averaged 3,204 in 2022 when they were in the Championship which has brought their three-year average down to 6,187.
They’ll get just the 2 points out of 2.5 as it stands.
London Broncos: 1.50
London, as you would expect, fall into the bottom category here. Although they’re pulling in over 3,000 on average in Super League this season, an average barely exceeding 1,000 in each of the last two Championship seasons leaves them on 1,814.
Salford Red Devils: 2.00
Salford’s crowds have stayed fairly constant over the last three years which leaves them with an average of 4,854: way short of the threshold for maximum points. They’ll lose 0.5 on a lot of their rivals.
St Helens: 2.50
No fuss for the Saints. A three-season average of 12,287 and comfortably inside the top bracket: and the A grading.
Toulouse: 2.00
Toulouse’s crowds have dipped over the last three years; they averaged almost 5,000 in Super League in 2022 but that’s been almost halved this season. That leaves them with an average of 3,702 over the eligible period: enough for 2 out of 2.5 points.
Wakefield Trinity: 2.00
This has been a real encouraging season for Trinity in terms of crowds, but they’re still some way short of the maximum 2.5 points, with an average of 4,587 from 2022 to 2024.
Warrington Wolves: 2.50
The final two clubs in question have minimal fuss over their crowds. Warrington’s three-season average is around 9,700.
Wigan Warriors: 2.50
And, as you would expect, the Warriors are comfortably safe in the top bracket with an impressive 13,513 average between 2022 and 2024.
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