IMG Gradings confirmed

[the pieman]

How much does utilisation actually count for? 0.25 of a point or something. We should be increasing the top scoring attendance to 10K over the next 3-4 years IMO.

And I'd say to the complaint that cas and Wakefield don't deserve to be A grade because they've not done anything for 20years, well this system has successfully made them fix that. So isn't that a good thing? Nothing else the game tried has succeeded in that. Doing what you're asked to do is not "gaming the system".

yes, but that was just an example and one of many that we feel that isnt right. Bar been set too low IMO, but no reason why it shouldnt get increased but i'd personally say over 10k, or 10k with a view to being 15k in 5 years time

re gaming the system, Derek Beaumont is clear that he has gamed the system at Leigh, and had to because others had done it, and Leigh would have been Grade B, and below Huddersfield, Hull and Salford, despite having a far better facility than some other clubs, having success on the pitch and offering one of the best pre-match entertainments over the last couple of years.

In which bit have Leigh gamed the system? The finance aspect because DB is the owner?

https://leighleopards.co.uk/owner-derek ... g-process/

This is the interview with DB, where he is very clear that he has played the system or they would have been 14th

its not often i agree with much he says, but he is very clearly calling out the criteria, and detailing how he has managed to manipulate it to his benefit, but he needed to

[the pieman]

IMG grading tweaks could be made with key date set for potential changes

All professional clubs are now judged on five pillars: performance, fandom, fianance, stadium, and community—with 15 points needed to achieve Grade A status. The top 12 highest-scoring clubs are then allocated into the Super League, with those below making up the Championship and League 1 competitions. The process then starts again for the following year, with clubs needing to match or better their existing scores to guarantee their status season by season.


https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... e-30271552

Did this come from Sutton himself or the journalist?

Because my understanding is that neither bettering your score or matching it will absolutely guarantee your status in super league.

thats true, and i personally think its right as per one of my earlier posts, that there is an element of jeopardy

however, if Wigan remain static off the pitch, then we are only going to lose points due to the success we've had this last 3 years, so we really need to up our game elsewhere. Its unlikely that we would lose our Grade A status, but it is likely that the likes of Wigan, Saints, Leeds are going to be up / down slightly on each grading, mainly depending upon success on the pitch

as you've alluded to previously we dont have each clubs individual scores across the board, and i think that should be shared as part of the gradings, so all fans can clearly see where clubs have scored (or not), but more importantly if they can improve or not.

[Mike]

yes, but that was just an example and one of many that we feel that isnt right. Bar been set too low IMO, but no reason why it shouldnt get increased but i'd personally say over 10k, or 10k with a view to being 15k in 5 years time

re gaming the system, Derek Beaumont is clear that he has gamed the system at Leigh, and had to because others had done it, and Leigh would have been Grade B, and below Huddersfield, Hull and Salford, despite having a far better facility than some other clubs, having success on the pitch and offering one of the best pre-match entertainments over the last couple of years.

In which bit have Leigh gamed the system? The finance aspect because DB is the owner?

https://leighleopards.co.uk/owner-derek ... g-process/

This is the interview with DB, where he is very clear that he has played the system or they would have been 14th

its not often i agree with much he says, but he is very clearly calling out the criteria, and detailing how he has managed to manipulate it to his benefit, but he needed to

He's calling it "playing the system" but he's commited that finance to Leigh, whereas before it was at his discretion (which he's withdrawn several times during his time at Leigh). The money was there, but he's put it in a bucket that scores them points. Is that "gaming the system"? or is it a club having access to a financial backer (which frankly everyone needs at the moment).

[moto748]

Well, nobody here is blaming DB. It is what it is.

[josie andrews]

14-team Super League expansion caveat addressed as IMG chief discusses grading tweaks

Matt Dwyer has delivered his views on grading and more.

IMG's VP of sports management, Matt Dwyer, says expansion of the Super League is not guaranteed, even if more than twelve clubs obtain Category A grades. The 2024 gradings saw nine clubs land the highest grade possible, with others aspiring to get there soon.

Expansion of Super League to a 14-team competition is a regular point of discussion and with more clubs reaching the highest mark earlier than anticipated, it has seen renewed support, certainly among the sport's fanbase

However, Dwyer, who played a key role in the creation of the grading system, insists it has never been promised and suggested that the possibility of it is largely down to funding, with the sport's broadcast revenue down again in the most recent negotiations.

The current deal runs until the end of the 2026 season and Dwyer suggested that could be the appropriate time to have those conversations, given that projections show that is when more clubs are likely to reach Grade A.

"I'm not sure if we've said this publicly, but we've said it with clubs," Dwyer said. "There was always an asterisk next to it, we get to 12 Category A clubs and we then look to expand: if the game can afford it. I'm happy to say that we've got to more Category A clubs quicker than I expected, and that's great.

"There's a couple of clubs you can really see have embraced it, Wakefield being a great example. They went away, sat down and worked out what they had to do to get up to the highest level.

The intention is still expansion but that asterisk remains. Step one, let's get to 12 Category A clubs. Step two, we've always said we want to expand but we need to see where we're sitting from a financial point of view and it will probably be after we do the next renewal for the media rights deal anyway given current projections, so we have a season or two to sort that out."

Dwyer was keen to clarify that making clubs reach Grade A was not the end goal for the system, but rather a benchmark in their long-term vision.

"If I look back at it now, I would consider whether Category A is the right way because it gives this idea that it's the pinnacle of rugby league and where we want everyone to be and that's the end. If I was going back in time, I don't know what I'd call it but perhaps Level One, with a view to going to Level Five. But we want to get them first and get them to level two in the future.

"Perhaps that's a lebelling thing but are the clubs trying to move in this direction and if you look at Wakefield and Castleford's scores, it shows they're doing that."

Dwyer also admitted tweaks to the system are required.

The main part of it, we want to try and keep the goalposts in the same position to allow every club to work towards Category A standards to start with. Having said that, there are probably a couple of things we need to tweak having seen how it played out. There's a couple of things changed that we didn't foresee; an example being Super League+ and every game on Sky.

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... 4776833d50

[EDINBURGH-WARRIOR]

Complete load of old tosh . Practically admitting they don't know Rugby League and don't know what the Falkirk they are doing . The picture published of the personal assigned to the Superleague account when all this nonsense started a while back looked like the people who were flung off Alan Sugars apprentice show automatically were transfered into the IMG Superleague account team .

Old Foggie rant over lol

EW

[Mike]

Easy. Categories A , double A, triple A and Major league...