Revealed: When official 2024 IMG gradings will be announced

Last year, Rugby League announced the biggest changes in a generation. Through the RFL’s partnership with IMG, each club would be graded based on five criteria. The overall grading would then determine which league clubs played in, with the 12 highest ranked clubs making up Super League.

Seven clubs were granted Grade A status, which is the highest possible ranking. The gradings announced in 2023 were indicative, with the full system to be rolled out 2024. This means that promotion and relegation for the 2025 season will be defined by the IMG grading, rather than final league position.

Now, speaking to an RFL media briefing, the schedule for the confirmation of gradings has been announced.

IMG Gradings to be released in October

Speaking earlier today, RFL CEO, Tony Sutton confirmed the sequence of events leading up to the announcement of club gradings. Clubs will undergo a data capture phase between the 2nd and 30th of September, before an external assurance process takes place.

The Men’s Super League and Championship Grand Finals are the final games which will allow clubs to gain performance points. Therefore the announcement will come shortly after these games. The winner of the Championship Grand Final will win an extra 0.25 ranking points under the performance category. Sutton explained:

“The timetable, in summary will be [the] Men’s Super League Grand Final on the 12th of October. The Championship Men’s Grand Final…Saturday the 19th of October.

“That is the final game which can deliver points under grading for the bonus points, a quarter point for the winner of that game.

“Which means the grading announcement to the public and to everybody will be on Wednesday the 23rd of October.”

Clubs face nervous wait to learn grading

For those clubs who received an indicative Grade A, the announcement should hold no surprises. The seven clubs with a Grade A rating are Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, St Helens, Catalans Dragons, Warrington Wolves, Hull KR and Hull FC.

For the clubs at the bottom of Super League, and the top of the Championship, the grading will have a huge impact. Super League’s bottom club, London Broncos, are expected to be relegated from Super League, as they currently rank 24th in the indicative IMG rankings.

The Championship’s top club, Wakefield Trinity, are hopeful of an immediate return to Super League. Wakefield were relegated in 2023, howver they believe that the improvements they have made in the interim period should earn them sufficient points to secure a return in 2025.