Grading changes

[Damien]

Grading looks set to remain but with big changes. It'll be interesting to see the breakdown of all this in the wash:

Gradings will remain next year, with significant tweaks to be made to the current system.

The teams participating in Super League have been determined by a set list of criteria for the last two seasons, rather than the conventional promotion and relegation mechanism.

While the system has been divisive, All Out Rugby League can reveal that it will continue to be used to decide which clubs participate in Super League next year, albeit with a changed point-scoring system that places a greater emphasis on results on the field, as well as current and future finances.

The catchment section of the criteria will be removed as part of the changes, something many clubs will be in favour of after officials publicly criticised that aspect of the system, given they had no control over their score.

...

Beyond that, the financial pillar of the criteria is set for major changes which will ensure there is a great emphasis on a club's current financial position. To date, a club's score has been determined based on its previous three financial years, which resulted in clear issues, most notably that Salford's finance score actually increased despite its current struggles, which ultimately led to the club being liquidated on Wednesday.

https://www.alloutrugbyleague.co.uk/news/rugby-leagues-grading-system-set-1542796

 

Edited December 4, 2025 by Damien

[Damien]

On the face of it I think this will favour the present incumbents much more.

[The Future is League]

3 minutes ago, Damien said:

On the face of it I think this will favour the present incumbents much more.

Surprise surprise, not.

I wonder who at the RFL came up with a system favouring those already in Super League? 

[Harry Stottle]

So Re-Rmagining Rugby League is going to be Re-Imagined?

[Gooleboy]

9 minutes ago, Damien said:

On the face of it I think this will favour the present incumbents much more.

How dare you suggest such a thing!

[Eddie]

Criteria 1 - proximity to Odsal. 

[M j M]

Major changes to the grading system were essential if London were to get back in the top flight so it will be interesting to see how these plans affect that, which is something I think a large majority of SL clubs want. 

[gingerjon]

27 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

Surprise surprise, not.

I wonder who at the RFL came up with a system favouring those already in Super League? 

The current system was already heavily weighted to favour those in SL.

So IMG. Then the RFL.

[Eddie]

7 minutes ago, M j M said:

Major changes to the grading system were essential if London were to get back in the top flight so it will be interesting to see how these plans affect that, which is something I think a large majority of SL clubs want. 

What makes you think that’s what the majority of clubs want? Serious question btw, I have no idea what they want and they don’t seem to have a strategy. 

Edited December 4, 2025 by Eddie

[M j M]

3 minutes ago, Eddie said:

What makes you think that’s what the majority of clubs want? Serious question btw, I have no idea what they want and they don’t seem to have a strategy. 

Based on the statements of the people involved. Beaumont gets a lot of headlines but most people running the game are serious about the sport's future and know that a properly functioning London, as well as Catalan, are essential parts of Super League. 

This was why the amateurish reporting put out by people like Mascord and Davidson about Catalan being kicked out of the league was obvious rubbish. 

[The Future is League]

13 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

The current system was already heavily weighted to favour those in SL.

So IMG. Then the RFL.

So the 3 clubs promoted to Super League next season didn't have any financial check's, despite the ongoing saga that went on all season long at the Salford Re Devils, but now they will be carrying out future financial checks who want to play in Super League in the future.

Hopefully all Super League clubs will have their finances check in the future starting next season.

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, The Future is League said:

So the 3 clubs promoted to Super League next season didn't have any financial check's, despite the ongoing saga that went on all season long at the Salford Re Devils, but now they will be carrying out future financial checks who want to play in Super League in the future.

Hopefully all Super League clubs will have their finances check in the future starting next season.

The problem is here that things go South very quickly. That's not to say we shouldn't have any kind of checks in place, but as soon as any club goes bust, we kneejerk and blame the system - ignoring the fact that in reality, clubs are going to go bust under any system. All we can do is try and mitigate that risk as much as possible.

[Hopie]

The criteria do need changes, there are aspects to them that make no sense, but I don't trust any changes to look at things in a broad overview, they will likely just chase whatever problem is deemed the most important one at the time, and leave inconsistencies and some aspects over weighted. 

I worry that the messaging is relating to Salford, our clubs are not financially stable because they largely rely on the generosity of owners to stay afloat. If owners pull out or overextend themselves then financial struggles will be inevitable. I see no way any criteria could prevent that, so a change to this criteria could be overplayed. 

The other controversy is who loses out from the changes, certain clubs have done things they would never have done to get points under the current system, all these point boosts have not been major changes to the stability and finances of clubs, just rearranging of the furniture. So if changes cost a team a seat at the top table, and they don't have the time and money to react it could be very bad news indeed. 

[Simon Hall]

4 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

So the 3 clubs promoted to Super League next season didn't have any financial check's

They did.

[Coggo]

1 minute ago, Hopie said:

The criteria do need changes, there are aspects to them that make no sense, but I don't trust any changes to look at things in a broad overview, they will likely just chase whatever problem is deemed the most important one at the time, and leave inconsistencies and some aspects over weighted. 

I worry that the messaging is relating to Salford, our clubs are not financially stable because they largely rely on the generosity of owners to stay afloat. If owners pull out or overextend themselves then financial struggles will be inevitable. I see no way any criteria could prevent that, so a change to this criteria could be overplayed. 

It must be possible to gauge the extent to which a club is washing its own commercial face and/or how much an owner is subsidising losses, and grade it accordingly.

[The Future is League]

Just now, Dave T said:

The problem is here that things go South very quickly. That's not to say we shouldn't have any kind of checks in place, but as soon as any club goes bust, we kneejerk and blame the system - ignoring the fact that in reality, clubs are going to go bust under any system. All we can do is try and mitigate that risk as much as possible.

The question I ask is why the RFL or whoever has waited until the 3 clubs are already in Super League next season to do financial checks. Surely financial checks should have been carried out on them 3 clubs before they were admitted to Super League?

[M j M]

6 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

So the 3 clubs promoted to Super League next season didn't have any financial check's,

I mean apart from the extra two having specifically extra financial checks you are completely correct. 

[The Future is League]

2 minutes ago, Simon Hall said:

They did.

Link to back up that claim please.

[M j M]

Just now, The Future is League said:

Link to back up that claim please.

How have you got this far into this, commenting regularly, without understanding what the process was when the extra two clubs were selected to go into SL?

[Dave T]

4 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

The question I ask is why the RFL or whoever has waited until the 3 clubs are already in Super League next season to do financial checks. Surely financial checks should have been carried out on them 3 clubs before they were admitted to Super League?

There was a financial pillar at play. Whether it was the right one is a different question. It suggests not based on changes.

[Dave W]

4 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

Link to back up that claim please.

https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/rugby-league-news-super-league-2026-expansion-criteria-confirmed-as-announcement-date-made-107538/

It was widely discussed at the time and I believe is one of the main things the independent panel was looking at.

[Harry Stottle]

7 minutes ago, Coggo said:

It must be possible to gauge the extent to which a club is washing its own commercial face and/or how much an owner is subsidising losses, and grade it accordingly.

Why!

Are you suggesting that the new criteria should have the abillity to delve into the personal finances of the owners, or take a guess how long the owners are happy enough to stay in situ at their respective clubs?

How else would you grade it accordingly?

[The Future is League]

6 minutes ago, Dave W said:

https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/rugby-league-news-super-league-2026-expansion-criteria-confirmed-as-announcement-date-made-107538/

It was widely discussed at the time and I believe is one of the main things the independent panel was looking at.

It was proposed, but did it actually take place?

[Simon Hall]

12 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

Link to back up that claim please.

"Strict financial rules in place as Super League expansion criteria confirmed,

RL Commercial’s statement explains how finances and sustainability will be scrutinised with 2025 accounts, which do not come under the remit of IMG’s grading, set to be checked, as well as a sustainability forecast for the upcoming seasons.

It read: “In addition to the five pillars under which clubs are judged in the Club Grading System (Fandom, Performance, Finances, Stadium and Community), the panel will judge applications against a further set of criteria relating to Finance and Sustainability."

HTH

[The Future is League]

Just now, Simon Hall said:

"Strict financial rules in place as Super League expansion criteria confirmed,

RL Commercial’s statement explains how finances and sustainability will be scrutinised with 2025 accounts, which do not come under the remit of IMG’s grading, set to be checked, as well as a sustainability forecast for the upcoming seasons.

It read: “In addition to the five pillars under which clubs are judged in the Club Grading System (Fandom, Performance, Finances, Stadium and Community), the panel will judge applications against a further set of criteria relating to Finance and Sustainability."

HTH

So did it take place, and if so when?