Wigan Warriors and Wakefield Trinity in top 3 winners on IMG performance scores

Unsurprisingly, Wigan Warriors look set to be one of the big winners on the ‘Performance’ metric ahead of IMG’s grading reveal on Wednesday.

All rugby league clubs in the Super League, the Championship and League One are graded on five separate criteria (Fandom, Performance, Finance, Stadium and Community) with a maximum total of 20 points on offer.

Each of those five ‘pillars’ carries different point values but ‘Performance’ equates to five points and it is the only one that can be calculated without knowing the internal workings of a club.

A team’s ‘Performance’ score is assessed by their average finishing position across the most recent three seasons. Using Wigan Warriors as an example, they rank first in 2024, first in 2023 and third in 2022.

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

That third-placed rank in 2022 is an important one to distinguish because Matt Peet’s side actually only placed fifth in Super League, however, they were the highest-ranked losing semi-finalists, hence they would rank third.

As such, their average ‘position’ across the past three seasons is 1.67, by far the best of any team meaning they will achieve four points. They also then receive the 0.75 point bonus for winning Super League and the 0.25 bonus for winning the Grand Final, meaning Wigan Warriors score a maximum of five.

Further information on the process can be found within the IMG Grading handbook but with clarity over how a team is scored and graded on their ‘Performance’, we’ve looked at the teams who will make big gains from their preliminary grades released last October.

Wigan Warriors in top five winners on IMG ‘Performance’ scores

It’s no surprise that Wigan Warriors are one of those teams making great strides given that they have scored the maximum of five points.

Wigan actually fared well on the performance metric in their preliminary grades but they will now effectively swap their 2021 finish of sixth with their 2024 finish of first. That alone sees them jump to top of the rankings, gaining them over 0.1 point. Factor in their Challenge Cup victory which is worth 0.25 and the Warriors have gained over one-third of a point, making them among the biggest gainers.

Wakefield Trinity are another who benefits in a similar way. Despite being relegated, the club will actually earn 0.35 points more than their preliminary score from last year.

They will actually rank 12th once again, but pick up 0.25 for the Championship Grand Final win and 0.1 for their 1895 Cup victory, propelling them from the 2.7 point range to above 3, more than Super League sides such as Hull FC, Castleford Tigers and Huddersfield Giants.

Of course, when the grades come around in 2025 ahead of the 2026 season, they will lose that 0.35 points which will be something worth considering.

Five of the clubs set to lose IMG performance points on Wednesday

York Knights are another big gainer with Mark Applegarth’s side looking likely to pick up over one-third of a point as well. They ditch their 21st-ranked 2021 season for a 16 in 2024 which, paired with other teams dropping down, launches them from 19th to 16th.

One team expected to improve their IMG score for performance was London Broncos but their gain is minimal given the fact they lost their 0.25 bonus for winning the 2023 Championship Grand Final.

Official grades will be revealed on Wednesday morning but it’s at the discretion of clubs whether they showcase the breakdown of their points across the pillars.