Recently IMG made a series of amendments to their grading criteria.
This set the vote over whether or not they are introduced perfectly.
Thus, tomorrow, the 19th April, is a date that will determine the future of rugby league for the next 12 years and beyond after the RFL agreed a deal with IMG over a 12-year contract.
This vote will shape how Super League, the Championship and League One look.
As we prepare for this vote, it seems at least one Super League club will vote against the introduction of the new Grading System.
This club is Wakefield Trinity with Chief Executive Michael Carter saying in his programme notes before the club’s meeting with Leigh Leopards: “Until key issues are resolved, we will not be voting in favour.”
IMG only need a majority for the vote to go in their favour and the vote is weighted towards Super League clubs who have around a two to one advantage over sides in the Championship and League One.
RFL CEO Tony Sutton explained how the vote will work:
“It’s an ordinary resolution which is a simple majority so when I was at school that’s better than 50% of the votes cast.
“Also that voting system, which is embedded in the articles of the RFL and how RFL meetings and resolutions are run, has been in place since 2006.
“None of us here have been around long enough to remember why that change was made so it’s not a recent change.
“It’s an ordinary resolution which means 51% technically is the majority required.
“All clubs have one vote but as a population the Super League clubs vote, and then the Championship and League One club’s vote as a block are equal.
“So everybody gets one vote but Super League are weighted, it’s roughly two to one, and that’s to make sure that the constituencies have got equal votes on each side and simply reflects that there’s fewer Super League clubs than there are Championship and League One clubs.
“Again though that’s a structure that has been in place for over a decade.”