So tomorrow at 10:30am we finally find out our IMG grading. The excitement is almost too much to bare when it is set to be revealed that we are back to the same clubs from 2023 that has contributed to a gradual decline in tv revenue and viewing figures.

Anyone know how much the game has paid to IMG to get to this point?

I've seen £450k consultancy fees plus £300k for non-executive directors of RFL and RL commercial so £3/4million pa. Good job the game's flush with cash.....

I thought they were mainly on performance related pay. Something like 30% of any improvement they make to all commercial deals

Do they owe the RFL then?

It'll be fascinating to see where we are in the scheme of things. The current Superleague teams hold all the advantages in keeping the 12 available places. I'm not really sure how we can score higher than any of those teams with the obvious financial discrepancies. Perhaps we are looking to force expansion by attaining an A grade in the coming years?

we'll still be 14th. The gap will be narrower but we won't be able to close it without winning things - 0.25 for the championship final, 0.1 for 1895 cup etc. Or by massive investment in Odsal.
Going to 14 teams will be our best shot.

I saw someone on facebook saying we'd be 15th. But I can't see which championship team would be above us. I'm expecting 14th

I'm expecting 14th too but it's all academic. Does anyone really expect SL to expand? Will SL clubs really want to see their share of TV money go 14 ways instead of 12? I remember when they decided to keep our SL money from Omar Khan back in 2013, effectively ruining the club from the start. There's no way those same clubs will vote to expand the competition if they lose money as a result.

The only way in is if a SL club utterly implodes and then the 13th club will get to make up the numbers or if we get a rich sugar daddy who's prepared not only to fund everything to get an A grade - even then they'd probably need to assure SL that they wouldn't ask for their share of TV money. Then, maybe.

We'll probably need to wait a few years before everyone realises that deciding where clubs sit by checking a spreadsheet every October isn't working and we go back to how things were. We had this under licensing and I didn't spot any improvements then.

16th?! Damn. https://www.rugby-league.com/article/63 ... s-for-2024

16th?! Damn. https://www.rugby-league.com/article/63 ... s-for-2024

Gap is wider. just short of 2 points away from 12th. Toulouse only 0.5 points away.

London's score is inflated by the "incumbency bias" of being in SL last season. They'll fall away now and by next year be well down the rankings. They have their own issues keeping afloat too.

York have a smart ground and have done pretty well on the field. They're looking good. Probably a better bet than Toulouse for SL if a SL club implodes. No way will SL clubs want another French team in there.

Would be good to hear what plans the club has to improve on 16th. Doing better on the field would help and would help attendances too. Odsal needs finalising too - do we have primacy of tenure yet? If not then once that deal is done it will help - albeit leave us with a massive money pit to sort out.

Will be interesting to see what the spin is as we have plenty of deluded fans who think we're SL bound.

Bit disappointing but just shows how much being in SL can do to a score with London possibly weeks from ceasing to exist, yet above us.

Be interesting to hear Jason's interview later, he reckon we would be high 12s to low 13s. So that's a lot of points we don't have.

Until the stadiums sorted we don't deserve to be in SL. so whilst we'll improve next year on performance and having the lease, it doesn't really matter does it.

Well we all know it was massively skewed towards the current SL clubs.

Do worry about the long damage this process might do to the Championship when movement is effectively now on hold. The stadium is an issue that will continue to hold us back.

[urlhttps://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/article/2774/bulls-confirm-img-grading[/url

Breakdown. We're maxed out in fandom & finance & community whilst we're in the Championship. Performance can improve slightly, especially once the 9th place finish drops away. Stadium we know about.

Having a laugh at some of the scores.

Oldham have a worse score because they've moved from Whitebank stadium to Boundary park so it's less full.

Halifax. Scores 0.5 in finance last year. In 12 months they've had two WUP from HMRC and were late paying wages one month. They've tripled they score to 1
5. Outstanding!

One inexpensive way of improving the score on the ground is to smash sections of it up rendering it unsafe and forcing the council to reduce the capacity. Then we immediately improve our score for stadium utilisation. It worked for Featherstone and Wakefield.

Indeed it will be interesting. I fear the club's narrative over the years of, " back where we belong...etc" has created an expectation we are not able to meet. I've always thought of myself as optimistic about our prospects, but my disappointment at our IMG score has shown me, i am in fact in the deluded camp. Odsal is our eternal problem and now I'm concerned we've landed ourselves with a large yearly bill, with little apparent benefit. I hope to be wrong. Regardless I'll still turn up. I just hope this IMG score doesn't hit season ticket sales.

Oh hoaw we laughed and said Hudds only stayed in SL because they had a fancy ground. It seems as though they were trailblazers. Didn't think we'd ever get to a state where relegation would be abolished in favour of having a fancy ground. That being the case we can kiss goodbye to ever getting back

INOUT

They'll get that as well, although I doubt they'll see anything for a while yet.

Like every other mad gimmick the sport throws it's entire wight behind, this grading rubbish will be dropped within 3-5 years. Once we've worked out why snooker and darts have ditched IMG after paying them exorbitant amounts of money.

You would hope so Keith but self interest rules this sport and SL clubs will fight tooth and nail to protect the status quo. Can't see them voting to expand SL or bring back P&R as it means less money or more jeopardy.

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/ ... erm-focus/ Great read from the t and a. Certainly made me more relaxed after reading what Jason has to say. They’ve built enough trust with me over the last couple of years to back them. If it’s a case of we close the gap next year and back in the top 14, with all the arrows point towards SL expansion, then we are no worse off.

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/ ... erm-focus/ Great read from the t and a. Certainly made me more relaxed after reading what Jason has to say. They’ve built enough trust with me over the last couple of years to back them. If it’s a case of we close the gap next year and back in the top 14, with all the arrows point towards SL expansion, then we are no worse off.

But that assumes the other clubs aren;t also improving their score. Do you seriously think the other clubs in that 12-16 bracket are just going to sit there and do nothing whilst the Bulls "overtake" them?

We're already maxed out on a few categories - the big problem is the stadium, which - at best - will meet MINIMUM requirements. Jason says it himself, we are looking to meet minimum stadium requirements. But minimum isn't going to be enough when you've got teams like York with a purpose-built all-seater facility, and even Wakefield are building brand new stands. Where is the new stand at Odsal? Even putting a roof over the popular side seems to have disappeared from the conversation...

It’s not a case of doing nothing, what if they’re maxed out in areas? Proof will be in the pudding but ultimately the stadium stuff will take us above those teams as a MINIMUM. Performance will/should improve, finances and fandom maybe further. I don’t see a cause for concern, club is on a decent financial footing and has a squad to compete. We’ve been in FAR worse positions

It's a decent interview and it's good feedback from Jason Hirst. They're doing all they can but there are certain things outside their control (we're lumbered with Odsal as it's the only place available we can afford). It would be good to have a fans forum where he can perhaps explain it in a bit more detail, judging by comments on Facebook many of the fan base haven't got a clue and they'll need to be brought up to speed if they are to stay on board. We need to be realistic that SL isn't happening for sometime yet (if ever IMO) but we'll continue to try to jump through the hoops.