RL journo, Aaron Bower, states on his latest podcast that we could well be ahead of London when the next IMG scores are released.
Well that would be funny, but won’t make a difference in what the (extremely overpaid ) clowns at the RFL decide !
That would be comedy gold.🤣
Fair play to the board if that's the case, i think it will be tight between us, probably the bonus point for the Championship will edge London ahead.
I would laugh a lot if we did outscore them, considering all the resources they have at their disposal
All of a sudden I ponder that the IMG points will go out of the window when the NRL say London in or the deals off.................they will force the 15 teams.There have been mutterings against like things are not ready etc etc......won`t wash as they pushed in three teams at this stage last year.
They are ,the SL/RFL, are incompetant baffons dealing with the NRL a very sucessful organisation.
SL will fail rapidly without the NRL deal.
What a laugh if that happens after the RFL changed the criteria to guarantee London would be promoted. What a group of incompetents we have running the game. Not fit to run a bath.
How ironic it would be also that London were relegated from SL in 2024 despite their performance on the pitch and could now miss out on promotion also despite their performance on the pitch.
Interesting comment, but I guess just mischievous speculation by Aaron Bower. If true, I guess Huddersfield would stay up.
My guess is London and Huddersfield will be in SL in 2026, but the IMG gradings will be interesting. Did Bower speculate where Widnes will be in the IMG Spreadsheet League?
Personally don’t feel we will have jumped as much as bower suggests unless he’s heard something no one else has. As others have said it would be comedy gold however!
What an absolute tragedy for the Sport, having backed itself into a corner regarding London with no idea of how to get themselves out of it.
And I am completely fed up to the back teeth of discussions about the game being all about IMG ratings rather than results out there on the pitch, where it really matters.
This debate about London makes me laugh (or maybe that should be cry).
A couple of years ago, the Capital city team correctly made it to Super League by the very process that was in place to get them there, only then to be told that because of IMG they wouldn't be able to stay the following season!!!
You can't make this stuff up!
Whatever form the NRL 'takeover' takes (if it does happen), then I believe this is the games one and only opportunity to get it right, otherwise it is doomed to be more of the same. And I can only see a 'death by a thousand cuts' outcome for many of the teams outside of Super League.
Since 1996 (the date that SKY believes Rugby League started) the game has become a shadow of its former self. The product on the field is boring, predictable and sterile, with no governance or leadership at the top.
The Sport needs to stop pretending it is something that it is not, and gets back to basics.
Despite what the Media would have us think, Rugby League is not a much loved sport by the rest of the world.
Far from it.
Maybe that should have been the starting point of any discussions.
What a laugh if that happens after the RFL changed the criteria to guarantee London would be promoted. What a group of incompetents we have running the game. Not fit to run a bath.
How ironic it would be also that London were relegated from SL in 2024 despite their performance on the pitch and could now miss out on promotion also despite their performance on the pitch.
Interesting comment, but I guess just mischievous speculation by Aaron Bower. If true, I guess Huddersfield would stay up.
My guess is London and Huddersfield will be in SL in 2026, but the IMG gradings will be interesting. Did Bower speculate where Widnes will be in the IMG Spreadsheet League?
Huddersfield sent out e-mails yesterday asking fans to register their interest in next season's SL Season Ticket, as the capacity is a lot less than their old stadium. There was also a video attachment showing the ongoing upgrading to Dewsbury's ground, that they expect to be completed by January. So it looks like they won't be relegated.
https://www.giantsrl.com/article/10096/our-new-stages-transformation-underway
Paulie xx
The fact that a professional sport has lots of rubbish criteria to decide if you're in the top division or not shows exactly where our sport in this country is at. The Aussies mustn't know whether to laugh or cry about the situation.
Don't get me wrong, there absolutely should be minimum standards in terms of stadium/facilities etc., but as with non league football that should only be necessary if you secure promotion on the pitch. It's completely backwards to think teams have a certain sized gantry (Or whatever) and then the playing side comes after that.
Only at the RFL.
London deserve to be in SL, coz they earned it on the park.
Bradford should to be relegated, coz they finished bottom.
You (along with every other Championship team) didn't do enough on the park to merit promotion, so tier two status it should remain next term.
All three of the above are totally logical from where I'm sat, but the Bradford one defo won't happen, coz they're (sorted months ago) Vegas bound.
I accept some (a lot?) will argue, that it's not been an equal playing field as the Broncos are full-time, but had any other club had been offered the same financial input, I doubt very much there'd have been a single reply of "No thanks!"
Now for (yet another) unfair question from your Swintonian member! If.................
IMG ruled that your score was higher than that of Lockyer's Lads, and therefore the likes of Pies, Leeds, and yes, even the Bulls, were on your menu next term, how would you feel?
Smug? Justified? Up yours London, we're in and you're not? We don't warrant it, but we'll have it?
Over to you!
Spelly.
@spelly We'd adhere to the rules of the RFL, and go into SL. If the rules are changed in 2027, then so be it.
If a Club is just happy to coast along in the Championship, with no ambition other than to secure their annual funding, then maybe they should be playing in the NW Counties/ Pennine leagues. It's not good for the Comp, if only Widnes, Oldham, Salford and Doncaster are showing ambitions if the rest are just 'plodders'. All 20 teams need to aspire to get in SL, regardless of their spend, or get out of the Pro/Semi-Pro game. We can't afford another shitshow season like 2026.
Paulie xx
@spelly We'd adhere to the rules of the RFL, and go into SL. If the rules are changed in 2027, then so be it.
If a Club is just happy to coast along in the Championship, with no ambition other than to secure their annual funding, then maybe they should be playing in the NW Counties/ Pennine leagues. It's not good for the Comp, if only Widnes, Oldham, Salford and Doncaster are showing ambitions if the rest are just * 'plodders'. All 20 teams need to aspire to get in SL, regardless of their spend, or get out of the Pro/Semi-Pro game. We can't afford another shitshow season like 2026.
Paulie xx
* i'd use the word "realists" instead, as without a big money investment, it's not gonna happen.
The likes of Beaumont, and Ellis are (very) few and far between unfortunately. Men who (like you and I) are genuine fans, but (unlike you and I) millionaires as well. How I wish one of 'em had been a Lion instead of Leyther / Wakey, but c'est la vie.
I'd love to see us play (and compete) in SL, of course I would, and there's no charge for dreaming, but I'm willing to accept that short of a miracle, Leeds v Swinton in a league game, is nearly as unlikely as me voting Reform.
You mention the Pinks showing ambition, but (and yes I'm hugely biased here) last time they tried it, they almost went tits up.
If IMG decreed it, and the Chemics were dining at the top table come 2027, what would the target be? How many (few) of the current squad are of SL quality? Where would the necessary funds come from?
Just before I press "send" two simple yes or no questions please mate - Do you deserve to be in tier one next season? Do the Broncos?
Spelly.
@spelly Of course, if we qualified for SL through the IMG gradings, I would welcome it. We would then need to seek investment, which the club claimed was ready with last year's bid, to ensure we could put together a squad that is able to compete. That would include some of our current squad as well as bringing in new players.
Whether I agree with promotion and relegation based on a spreadsheet is another matter, but this is rugby league. The RFL should stick to their policy announced at the beginning of the season ie keep 14 Clubs in SL based on IMG gradings. If that means Widnes or London going up at the expense of Huddersfield or Bradford or anyone else, so be it. As an aside, when did the RFL announce that playing one game in Las Vegas exempted a team from relegation?
On the question of London, I can see why the NRL want London in SL. Wasn't that the reason for the substantial investment? Presumably, this would add value to Australian TV rights to show SL over there. I suspect that the NRL look at the way the game is run over here and believe that they can negotiate a better tv deal SL.
What I object to is the NRL picking and choosing which teams should be in SL. My guess is that SL will quickly become a closed shop under NRL control and the only way that entry would happen will be for a team to secure a big investment to be able to apply for entry to the league and only then, if it is to replace a team that has gone bust or they decide to increase the size of the league.
My own view is that there should be two SL divisions with promotion and relegation based on performance on the pitch. I also agree entirely with the views expressed by others that the principle of the IMG gradings, to improve standards across the game, is good for the game, but not as a basis for promotion. It would not be unreasonable to make it a condition of entry to SL that clubs must reach a minimum standard.
I also agree with Paulie that there are currently some Clubs in the Championship with no realistic chance or ambition in meeting the IMG criteria for SL, in the foreseeable future. These could continue at an amateur level, but still have the opportunity to build a case for entry to SL in the future. I think that this would benefit both the amateur and professional game. The RFL should also support the game from schools to amateur and professional levels.
@spelly Do you deserve to be in tier one next season? Do the Broncos?
Do either teams meet the current criteria for entry to SL ie top 14 of the IMG Spreadsheet League. The answer is a big YES from me.
If promotion had been based on performance on the pitch, then London would deserve to be promoted at the expense of Bradford. You have to remember that this is the RFL. Fairness and common sense do not figure in their thinking.