Bradford Bulls, Keighley Cougars and rest have IMG headache

Trying to ensure clubs work hard to get their stadiums, finances and non-first teams up to standard and more can only be applauded.

Ultimately, clubs should not be throwing all of their money on a men’s first-team squad, then finding it all blows up in their faces after an unexpected defeat or a poor season, when all of a sudden they realise they have spent beyond their means.

It is disappointing that only two non-Super League clubs, Bulls and Wakefield, have an elite academy, and while the women’s game is growing, the difference in standard between the top three or four teams compared to the rest is alarming.

Supporters at this level should not be going to stadiums any more that would not look out of place 50 years ago, while teams should be looking to engage the younger generation, lapsed fans and those who live away on social media, in order to keep them interested in what is going on at the club.

Odsal holds a special place in the heart of most Bulls fans, but the brutal reality is that it is dilapidated and not fit for purpose. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

And what is the point of the ‘rugby league family’ cliché if there is no community outreach at places like local foodbanks and schools?

How anyone can look at all of the above and not think changes on those fronts would improve rugby league in this country is beyond me.

However, while the concept is admirable, I fear many clubs will find the changes they have to make implausible and impossible.

For many clubs to improve their product to the levels IMG are wanting for Super League sides would surely take an amount of money they simply don’t have.

It’s okay for IMG to demand stadium improvements and ask clubs to create extra teams out of thin air, but how will that be achieved?

If all clubs had millionaire fans that were willing to bankroll them, amazing, but many are struggling to keep a first team alive as it is.

Newcastle and London Skolars have dropped out of the professional game this year, West Wales Raiders went to the wall in 2022, and Whitehaven’s financial issues are well-documented.

For many clubs outside of IMG’s top 14, with Bulls just sneaking into that, Super League has now become the impossible dream.

It is hard to see how any of the other 21 on that list, including poor Million Pound Game winners London Broncos, can possibly improve their provisional score to ‘Super League standard’ without spending an insane amount of money they do not have.

London did brilliantly to bounce back from a mid-September home defeat to Bulls and reach Super League, but they are set for a short stay in the top flight. (Image: Tom Pearson)

That ties in nicely to my next issue, which is that IMG’s rankings don’t really change the status quo at all.

All this talk from IMG and the RFL about ensuring Super League is no longer a closed shop rings hollow when you take a look at the rankings released last month.

Of the sides that spent last season outside of the top flight, only Toulouse and Bradford appear to have any chance of gatecrashing the Super League elite any time soon, with the latter still needing to do a fair amount to catch the likes of Wakefield and Castleford just ahead of them.

The Super League product, thanks to TV deals and central funding, has been a world away from what we see week in, week out, in the Championship and League 1.

Naturally that means more money flying about, as well as bigger fanbases and followings on social media, which leads to the inevitable outcome of the traditional top-flight sides scoring far higher in the IMG grading criteria than nearly all of those in the second and third tiers.

Even if a much-mooted move to a 14-team Super League happens any time soon, that will only realistically benefit Toulouse and Bradford, with other quality sides like the Broncos, Fev, Sheffield and York left behind.

Sheffield finished fourth in last season's Championship after a thrilling final-day game with Bulls, but the Eagles' provisional IMG score is a miserable 8.36, putting them 22nd in the rankings and miles away from Super League. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Speaking of TV deals, as I mentioned earlier, what on earth is going on with the Championship next season?

It’s all well and good being able to view every Super League game on Sky Sports, but there is still some quality rugby league to be played in the second tier next season.

Yet, at present, there is nowhere to see it.

The Viaplay deal was somewhat of a flop from a money and exposure point of view for clubs, and the company almost seemed to lose interest in televised games last season.

So, while few chairmen will be mourning the loss of that, as yet there is no deal in place for 2024.

How are clubs supposed to score points in the IMG rankings for viewership if that’s literally impossible? Something needs sorting on that front and soon, as it is a farce given the new season starts in only three months’ time.

My final issue is that the communication between the RFL, IMG and clubs seems muddled.

When the grading criteria handbook was released at the start of July, I wrote how I expected Bradford to score poorly on their stadium, for obvious reasons.

Yet while Bradford board members Jason Hirst and Deborah Sorra have been admirably upfront about not shying away from Odsal’s shortcomings over the last few months, they told a fans' forum later that month that they expected to score highly on that front.

If you actually look at the breakdown of the criteria under the stadium pillar, Bulls do seem to tick a lot of boxes, yet as we found out last month, their stadium score is dire after all and ultimately costing them a place in IMGs top 12.

Keighley said they were “insulted” by their IMG score putting them 30th, so clearly hadn’t foreseen it being so low and by all accounts, several clubs received a nasty shock on ‘results day’.

Keighley beat Super League-bound London in March, with their squad shaping up nicely, but the picture looks far bleaker for them eight months on. (Image: JT Sports Media.)

A lot of clubs seemed, to an extent, to be guessing their score, hardly ideal when this grade is so seismic to their future.

Surely, IMG and the RFL could have worked more closely with clubs to give them a rough score this summer, rather than plunge an autumnal dagger into their hearts?

The IMG concept of improvement across the board? Yes, love it.

The IMG reality for most clubs outside of Super League (and the Broncos)? Pretty disastrous.