Championship Grand Final rendered meaningless by IMG Gradings

Just weeks ago we were treated to two days of fantastic rugby league over a brilliant weekend starting with Wigan Warriors claiming the Super League title against Catalans Dragons in the Super League Grand Final.

A pulsating game in the first half between the two top teams, but in the second half the Dragons looked tired as Wigan found another gear.

Strictly speaking it was still an entertaining game but it had more than its fair share of critics with some bemoaning how boring it was.

Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont even admitted it wasn’t the greatest Grand Final as he argued with rugby union fans recently.

Compare this to the try filled and engaging Championship Grand Final and you can see why some were disappointed.

A game full of great rugby, nerves and drama, London Broncos pulled off an amazing comeback to defeat Toulouse Olympique away and secure their place in the Betfred Super League.

They did so from fifth in the league defeating league leaders Featherstone Rovers the week before in one of the shocks of the season.

However, if something similar was to happen in 2024 the Grand Final would be rendered pointless as the IMG gradings revealed.

This is because it revealed that London rank a lowly 24th out of 35 with the worst Grade B score.

This means only Grade C’s rank lower than them including the likes of Cornwall RLFC and North Wales Crusaders.

Thus, should the Grades have the effect they will have in a year’s time, the club would be blocked from entering Super League.

Interestingly, the same fate would have befallen Championship front runners Featherstone Rovers.

They only ranked 15th out of 35 with Wakefield Trinity and Toulouse Olympique above them.

In fact, Toulouse were included inside the top 10 above Super League’s Leigh Leopards and Castleford Tigers.

Remarkably, the Tigers would miss out on Super League based on the scores as they have been released today.

This demonstrates a definitive end to promotion and relegation through regular means and indicates a worthlessness to the Championship Grand Final going forward.