KEIGHLEY COUGARS say they have been targeted by a decision to award them zero points in this year’s club grading process following a late submission.
In a statement, the Cougars revealed that they had submitted the required paperwork less than 24 hours late, and pointed to examples last season where Batley and Whitehaven failed to meet the deadline.
The club cited the recent departure of general manager Steven Watkinson, saying it was unaware that essential documents had not been submitted.
Managing director, and co-owner, Kaue Garcia said: “This decision feels very retaliatory and targeted at us — a club that has been openly vocal in questioning IMG (who devised the grading system) and the direction of the sport.
“It’s especially disappointing given the RFL’s past approach, where they worked with both Whitehaven and Batley in 2024 and allowed them to submit their data past the deadline, issuing provisional scores. This inconsistency only reinforces our feeling that we have been unfairly treated.”
Keighley have been outspoken about the grading process from the outset, including in a recent interview broadcast on BBC Radio Leeds.
Despite this, they were the most improved club in the 2024 rankings, climbing 11 places to 19th.
Perhaps most worrying, for a club that has recently been forced to cut off-field staff due to rising costs, is the impact receiving no score will have on their central funding for next season.
Both Batley and Whitehaven were unranked in the 2024 grades having submitted incomplete data, with Whitehaven pointing to their well-documented off-field struggles of that season, while Batley stated unforeseen circumstances.
Garcia added: “After speaking with Batley Bulldogs’ owner, Kevin Nicholas, he expressed surprise at how harshly we’ve been treated as they submitted their data one week later than the deadline in 2024 due to unforeseen circumstances.
“We can’t help but feel that this is a targeted attempt to silence and punish us.
“The RFL frequently promotes collaboration and transparency with its member clubs — but this decision does the exact opposite. It is punitive, inconsistent, and goes against the spirit of fair play.”
The process of gathering data from clubs for the IMG grading process for 2025 has been ongoing for several weeks, with the final scores due to be revealed on October 16, after which the confirmed make-up of the two divisions next year will be announced.
If Keighley move to the bottom of the rankings, it will represent a drop of 17 places – last year’s highest fall was Newcastle, who went down 14 places to 32nd.