Wakefield Trinity heading to Super League as IMG gradings confirmed

Trinity, who beat Toulouse in the Championship Grand Final on Saturday, have now officially been promoted back into Super League as a Grade A club, after just one season in the second tier.

Trin, who also claimed the League Leaders’ Shield as well as the 1895 Cup, achieved an IMG score of 15.09 as they finished 8th in the overall club rankings.

They will replace London Broncos, who finished bottom of Super League 2024, as part of the sport’s restructure.

Wakefield Trinity CEO, Craig Barrass, told the club’s website: “We’re all delighted with the news and it’s been a long road with IMG this year. The announcement has come with a mixture of relief and elation to finally confirm that we’ve got back to the Super League.

“The whole process has been one that has been ongoing all year long, and IMG runs alongside what we are doing on the field and there is more to it than meets the eye.

“We’ve put a big focus into each and every category of IMG and looked to maximise points where we can. The work that we have put in this year also helps set us up for future years.

“For example, the attendance that we have achieved this year will help our three year rolling average in the future and we’d really like to thank fans for their support throughout 2024.

“Our fans have had an important part to play across every category of IMG. We’ve managed to have a record year in retail, our media has hit record numbers and then the obvious one is our increase in attendances helping the team on the field to achieve our victories.

“As a club and a family, we can not thank them enough for this year.”

Trin’s near neighbours Castleford Tigers will also enter Super League 2025 as a Grade A club, as will Leigh Leopards, with both clubs making improvements in 2024.

The other Grade A teams are St Helens, Wigan Warriors, Leeds Rhinos, Warrington Wolves, Hull KR and Catalan Dragons, with Hull FC, Huddersfield Giants and Salford Red Devils, all Grade B, completing the line up for next year’s campaign.

Featherstone Rovers and Halifax Panthers will remain in Championship with a Grade B rating and a score of 10.75 and 8.79 respectively.

Panthers CEO, Damian Clayton, commented on the club’s website:

“We are encouraged by the positive trends in areas such as fan engagement and community activity, but we recognise that the drop in our overall score is a signal to focus on further improvements.

“The Grade B status keeps us eligible for top-tier participation, and we are committed to addressing the challenges, both on and off the pitch, that have led to this slight decline.

“Our stadium score is reflective of the constraints we face as tenants of The Shay, which is owned by Calderdale Council. While we cannot directly undertake major works, we will continue to collaborate with the Council to enhance the matchday experience for our fans.

“Overall, we remain optimistic and focused on building a stronger future for Halifax Panthers.”

Batley Bulldogs have confirmed that their IMG score is “incomplete.”

A statement on the club’s official Facebook page read:

“This is because our data was submitted two days late and our audit has not been finalised. We have no issue with this as we gave to the RFL two reasons for this by way of mitigation and we have been assured that as soon as our audit is complete we will be given our score.

“We know our score will not be in the top 12 to qualify for Super League so it is not urgent. The score will affect our funding for 2025 which is its only relevance to us and we will know that in due course anyway.

“Well done to the 12 clubs that have an IMG score to qualify for Super League but very well done to Wakefield Trinity for their success at playing our great sport on a rugby field with their triumph in our Grand Final which previously would have qualified them for Super League anyway.

“Our focus at present over the next few weeks is stabilising our finances, ensuring we have a competitive team for 2025 and making steps to try to improve our floodlights going forward.

“The IMG score will take care of itself and we thank the RFL for their understanding in all the circumstances.”

Fixtures for the Super League and Championship will be released next month.