Every Rugby League club’s IMG Performance score ranked from 35th to 1st

On Wednesday morning, 35 Rugby League clubs will learn their IMG grade for the 2025 season and ahead of then, we’ve revealed their Performance scores.

A club’s IMG score is awarded based on five ‘Pillars’; Fandom, Performance, Finance, Stadium and Community, all of which can amount to up to 20 points. Teams will all be aiming for a Grade A, the only thing that assures you a spot in Super League, but not all of them will reach that figure.

Seven teams were handed a Grade A in the preliminary scores, released this time last year, and it’s expected that figure to be the same again albeit with one team swapping out for another.

Much of the IMG scoring is done internally and relies on metrics such as social media engagement, the size of a team’s media room and of course, whether they have LED lights or not.

Everything you need to know about the IMG grades ahead of Wednesday update

On-field Performance is calculated as it says on the tin. Well, not quite as simple given that it is IMG after all. A team’s Performance score is based on their average finishing position across the last three seasons. Should a team make the play-offs in their respective division then their play-off finish determines their rank, not their league ladder finish.

For example, Leigh Leopards came fifth in Super League but made it to the play-off semi-finals, therefore they rank as fourth, and Salford who finished fourth will rank fifth.

Bonuses are awarded for winning each of Super League (0.75), the Challenge Cup (0.25), the Championship (0.25), the 1895 Cup (0.1) and League One (0.1).

With all of the terms and conditions out of the way, here is how every single team in the top three flights of Rugby League will rank on their performance when tomorrow’s IMG gradings are confirmed.

Every Rugby League team’s Performance score ranked 35th to 1st

35 to 32: Cornwall 0.1143, Midlands Hurricanes 0.2286, North Wales Crusaders 0.3429 and Rochdale Hornets 0.4571

These are the only four rugby league teams to score less than 0.5 points. Unsurprisingly, all four are League One clubs. A positive for these sides is that promotion from League One to the Championship can be attained on-field, meaning a lowly Performance score should not hinder their ambitions.

31 to 28: Hunslet 0.5714, Workington Town 0.6857, Oldham 0.9 and Newcastle Thunder 0.9143

Two of these four clubs will be playing in the Championship in 2025 with Hunslet winning a dramatic play-0ff last Saturday and Oldham winning League One. The Roughyeds had scored 0.8 for their rank of 29 but they gain the 0.1 bonus for winning League One. Spending the 2022 and 2023 seasons in the Championship helps prop up Newcastle’s ninth-placed finish in League One this past season.

27 to 23: Keighley Cougars 1.0286, Dewsbury Rams 1.1429, Doncaster RLFC 1.2471, Swinton Lions 1.3714 and Whitehaven 1.4857

Moving past the one-point barrier but below the 1.5 mark are a handful of teams representing the bridge between League One and the Championship. The 2022 and 2023 League One champions Dewsbury and Doncaster feature with the former relegated back to League One. They’ll be joined by Swinton Lions who incredibly score more for their performance this year than in 2023, despite being relegated. The IMG saga has already struck with Whitehaven confirming that they submitted their data too late and will receive an ‘incomplete grading’.

22 to 18: Barrow Raiders 1.6 points, Halifax Panthers 1.7143, Widnes Vikings 1.8286, Batley Bulldogs 1.9429 and Sheffield Eagles 2.0571

We’ve crept past the two-point mark here but it starts to get even more complicated. Barrow’s score of 1.6 is simple but both Halifax and Widnes, as well as Batley and Sheffield, score the same rank. Across the three seasons of data, Fax and Widnes both have an average position of 19.33 but on account of Widnes’ better 2024, they take the higher spot. The same applies for Sheffield and Batley, both ranking 18.33, but the Eagles finished higher in 2024 so creep past the two-point mark.

The 12 teams IMG are set to confirm for Super League 2025

17 to 13: Bradford Bulls 2.1714, York Knights 2.2857, Featherstone Rovers 2.4, London Broncos 2.5143 and Toulouse Olympique 2.6286

This set of scores take us all the way to the edge of Super League and once again there is a tie. Featherstone and London both rank 16th but on account of the Broncos’ 12th-place finish in 2024, they claim the higher spot. York Knights are one of the biggest winners compared to 2023, moving from 1.94 to 2.2857.

12 to 9: Hull FC 2.8571, Castleford Tigers 2.9714, Huddersfield Giants 3.0857 and Wakefield Trinity 3.0929

Into Super League now and past the 3-point mark. Thanks to their 0.35 bonus for both the Championship Grand Final and their 1895 Cup win, Wakefield sneak into ninth on the rankings. As expected, Hull FC’s drop continues and given how marginal their Grade A status was, a decrease of just 0.1143 could be the tipping point in Grade B.

8 to 5: Leigh Leopards 3.2, Warrington Wolves 3.3143, Leeds Rhinos 3.4286 and Salford Red Devils 3.5429

Leigh lost out on their Challenge Cup bonus but a huge increase in the league sees their rank jump from 10 to 7.33, hence they make a marginal gain. Warrington actually lose points despite placing third on account of other teams flourishing around them with Salford being one of those. The Red Devils gain over 0.2 whilst Leeds Rhinos lose just over 0.2.

4 to 1: Catalans Dragons 3.6571, Hull KR 3.7714, St Helens 3.8857 and Wigan Warriors 5

Wigan’s score of five might seem enormous compared to everyone else and that’s because it is. They rank top of the three-year average which earns them a maximum of four points and after picking up all silverware available, including the Grand Final and Challenge Cup, they scoop up all the available bonuses to hit a maximum of five points. Defeated Grand Finalists Hull KR gain over 0.2 points whilst Catalans lose out on just over 0.1 points, as do St Helens.

Now for IMG to reveal how clubs have performed in the other four pillars and we’ll know for sure who is playing their rugby league in what division next season.