HULL FC and Salford have called for changes to the club-grading metrics after being among three teams to maintain their Super League places without Grade A status.
Hull have lost the top grade they were given in last year’s indicative rankings, after dropping from 15.05 points to 14.51.
They fall from seventh to tenth place of all clubs, with Huddersfield and Salford completing next year’s Super League line-up.
Huddersfield scored 14.48 points (up from 13.49) while Salford dropped four places, from eighth to twelfth, despite a fractional score increase from 13.80 to 13.97.
Hull attributed their reduced score to a fall in league performance, TV viewership and stadium utilisation, plus their LED screens not complying with the required standards set out by IMG.
Hull, like Super League rivals Leigh, have been penalised for their screens not meeting the required pixel pitch, after being incorrectly given the 0.125 available points last year.
Chairman Adam Pearson said: “We have expressed our frustration in relation to not achieving the relevant points for our stadium big screens, being marked against unrealistic and unachievable criteria, despite having two of the sport’s best big screens, and being the only club to have two screens, rather than one.
“As well as changes to the big screen category, we also hope to see other positive changes to the stadium category, with the club effectively being deducted points for playing in one of the competition’s premier facilities (due to a lower utilisation score), and catchment, with the club not able to include the population of local areas including Hessle, Willerby, Cottingham, and Beverley within their figures, despite having a large out-of-town supporter base, while the city of Hull in general is marked down for having two professional teams.”
Salford are confident of improving their score next year, with the recent purchase of their ground by Salford City Council and an expected new lease providing scope to improve their finance and stadium scores.
However, they have objected to the finance metrics, which reward clubs directly for owner investment.
The Red Devils said in a statement: “We believe that additional due diligence within the reporting system may be necessary to maintain a level playing field.
“As a community-owned club, we cannot rely on private equity to improve certain criteria, therefore achieving a Grade A status is critical to the future of the club, as well as the City of Salford.”
RFL chief executive Tony Sutton acknowledged that they were open to tweaking the current metrics.
“We won’t change them every year, but equally we are in the middle of a consultation with clubs,” he said.
“We’ve had two sessions already and there will be another session to come, about where it will evolve to.”
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