Leigh Leopards ‘reveal’ IMG score and grading after securing Super League play-off place
Leigh Leopards celebrate Frankie Halton's try during their win against Warrington Wolves in Round 24 of the 2024 Super League season
Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont has revealed that he believes the club have secured an A grading and a score in excess of 15 points in the IMG criteria after the club confirmed their spot in the Super League play-offs.
Leigh will face Salford next week for the right to be within 80 minutes of the Grand Final, and Beaumont revealed pre-match on Friday night that he is ‘absolutely certain’ the club have done enough to score over 15 points in the IMG system.
That would guarantee them an A grade and immunity from relegation. It would also mark a huge increase in their score from 12 months ago – they scored just 12.45 points and were perceived to be under threat of relegation this year.
But Leigh have improved in a number of areas as Beaumont laid out pre-match on Friday. He confirmed that they cannot confirm their score due to the fact all the data Leigh will submit has to be independently audited and verified – but insisted he was confident they have done enough to pass through the 15-point mark.
“Given that this is the last home game in the Leopards Den irrespective of the result I wanted to be able to celebrate with the fans the fantastic success of achieving a grade A status, especially considering the fact we are carrying a year of Championship data within the application,” Beaumont said.
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“A critical part of that has been the increased attendances and how that has affected the utilisation score. There are some players departing our club that have played a significant part in the success and those league finishing positions from being promoted are also a significant part of making the grade, so it’s only fitting they get to celebrate that with the fans after their last game.
“I am well aware that the RFL, through external auditors, will deliver each club’s total score but I am absolutely certain that whilst our score cannot possibly be to the decimal point at the time of writing, that the worst-case scenario still delivers us as a grade A club that simply cannot be contested and can be stated to our stakeholders with transparency and certainty.”
Leigh estimate they have scored 15.1257 points, achieved in the following areas:
- Fandom: 4.2/5
- Performance: 3.0857/5
- Finance: 3.8/4.5
- Stadium: 2.29/3
- Community: 1.75/2.5
But it will only become official towards the end of next month, when the official IMG gradings are revealed.
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