Taffy Tiger

Hi dboy I don't think Cas will be doing LED boards either until new stand at least started . You may be right about the Cat A , we will have to wait and see. However , even without Cat A we will both hopefully be ok to make the top 12 .

Hi JohnM , doesn't look right to me

Hi DEANO wasn't sure there were any demands made There were some stipulations around franchising , relating to facilities I think , but not sure if any other demands have been made

Hi JHF Yes , they could , but without knowing the exact breakdown of their indicative scoring , it's hard to know just how much of a scope they have for improvement . They are both a little way ahead of 10th place in the indicative gradings , but with Leigh already on the verge of a Cat A at the end of the season , and Cas and Wakey both hoping for mid 14 scores , then Salford and Huddersfield would be in no way guaranteed SL status . Knowing that London are definitely out though , means that a Wakey for London swap would be the most likely . That said , we don't know if Bradford have improved enough to challenge or what the situation is at Toulouse either . It could all get very interesting around October/Novemeber time.

Hi FT , Leigh's cup win is only 0.25 points and DB has already said that with the extra points they will get for finances in 2024 , Leigh should be Cat A In theory Wakey are 12th in the 2023 gradings as Cas appealed their score but were told by RFL that there would be no appeals as it was an indicative grading only . However , the RFL did state that had it gone to appeal then with the re-submitted figures from Cas , they would receive an extra 0.75 points taking them into 11th spot. This year will be interesting . Wakey will gain the difference back on Cas if they win 1895 Cup and GF . Both teams should get the extra point (hopefully) for the stadium , but Wakey's new stand should increase turnover more , but how much of a difference this will make with turnover down due to relegation and the subsequent loss of revenue from ticket sales , remains to be seen. The one area that will improve for Wakey though , is the turnover to central funding ratio . Going down to Championship means that your central funding has dropped dramatically and so you should score full marks (0.75 I think) in this area . Cas won't , but with no published figures in Finance section from IMG it's hard to know just how many points Wakey scored in this area last season. Both clubs have said that Cat A may be beyond their reach this season , but hopefully they can both be high 14s and secure SL status for 2025 .

Hi Harry , speaking for Cas , I think they will 'improve the spectacle' on the field , but not straight away. Cas have said we have a 3 year plan . With the way IMG criteria works we have to prioritise off the field , at least for this season. Once the ground is temporarily upgraded to meet IMG criteria , we can then concentrate on improving the team and can invest a little more in this area until the ground is permanently upgaded. When the ground is fully upgraded any money from our investors can then go straight into strengthening the squad . In theory , when all of the above is in place , we should be able to secure our place in SL for the long term future , with a solid foundation off the field as well as on it.

Thanks for the reply gittinsfan . I think that SL is almost certain to expand during the IMG period . You are right , nothing will allow any Cat B to overcome a Cat A . However , if that Cat B then becomes a Cat A they will join SL alongside any other already established Cat A teams. There are already 7 Cat A teams and if DB is to be believed (no reason to doubt him) , then Leigh will become the 8th Cat A team at the end of this season . Cas, Salford , Huddersfield , Wakey , Toulouse and Bradford are all going in the right direction to reach the standard required for a Cat A . The only way SL becomes a closed shop with 12 teams will be if no other team can make the grade . Under those circumstances , I think that would be a fair enough reason to stick at 12. Let's also remember that there has been speculation that Toulouse may join Catalans in SL , with both clubs self funding . If that is the case then the most logical solution would be to add 12 UK teams to give a 14 team SL with no need for a reduction in UK teams money and also put an end to loop fixtures. Just my opinion of course . Thanks again for the reply

Hi gittinsfan I don't think that is the case . All teams (inc Cat A teams) are assessed on an annual basis . A team can be Cat A and guaranteed SL rugby one year and the following year they could fall below Cat A status with no guarantee of a SL spot . Added to this any team who gets a Cat A status will be allowed a place in SL , so even if 12 clubs make Cat A , it still wouldn't be a closed shop , as there is the guarantee that any other team (other than these 12 ) will gain automatic entry , but it would be into an expanded SL. Every club now has a goal to aim for that would guarantee a SL place . This has never happened before. Of course that goal will be too high for many at the moment , but it doesn't mean that will always be the case . For the first time in over 20 years there is a good chance that more than one team could be promoted from the Championship . Not bad to say that they are supposedly at a 'massive disadvantage' to the current SL clubs , one of which we know for sure will not be in SL in 2025 .

Hi Harry , you are right , it certainly won't happen next year or maybe 2/3 , but IMG have said that they are hoping that enough teams reach Cat A status to be able to expand SL in the future . Their 'plan' is over a 12 year period , so best not to rush these things I suppose and allow teams to get a solid foundation in place for the future . The one thing that may bring an increase to 14 SL teams sooner rather than later , would be an agreement from the French clubs to self fund . That would allow 2 more teams from UK to join at no loss of money to these clubs , and with this would come a natural end to the loop fixtures which so many people seem to dislike .

Hi Gooleboy , yes it's possible but you would have to score very highly (if not full marks) in other areas

Hi DemonUK , all clubs are assessed annually . It is a little misleading , but as I understand it Category A teams are guaranteed SL status , with the Cat B teams fighting for any remaining places in SL , based on their grading score . The Category A specifics will apply when more than 12 clubs reach this grading . In this scenario SL will increase to accommodate all Cat A clubs . In theory (and IMG's ultimate aim) there will be many more than 12 Category A clubs by the time the 12 year plan comes to an end , but Cat A clubs will be guaranteed a SL spot.

Hi Pulga I have never been so offended . What a ridiculous thing to say . I know for a fact that there are at least 3 horses in Cas !!!

Hi LeeF , completely agree that on field performance does have much more of an impact than just the 25% or 20% mentioned . It's the same with the catchment area . Not only should this be removed on the basis that teams have no control over it , the very fact that a team has a larger catchment area is already scoring them more points on attendance , fandom and other related areas . We should remove the catchment area (in my opinion) and allocate the 1.5 points to the on field perfomance score . I think a good idea would be to add the 1.5 points (taken from Catchment area) and award it for CC instead . As an example you could award 1.5 to winner , 1.25 to runner-up , 1 to losing sf , 0.75 losing qf , 0.5 losing r16 and 0.25 to teams reaching last 32 . This would also make the CC more attractive to clubs .

Hi LeeF , just on the first point made , I think that what OP was getting at is that there are , in theory, 25% (5 points) available for on field performance , however , in reality , only the team winning GF (and possibly CC) where bonuses of 0.75pts and 0.25 pts are awarded respectively , are likely to get over 4pts , or 20% of total points available overall. In 2023 Indicative gradings only Wigan will have scored over 4 points on performance . Leigh won CC and so they received an extra 0.25 points but their average 3 year league performance wasn't enough to give them over 4 points in performance area In conclusion , 34 out of 35 teams failed to get 4 performance points , which equates to 97% of teams Under the current grading system only 2 teams can achieve over 4 performance points in any given season , in reality it is more likely to be the GF winners only as the bonus points are awarded for one season only.

I think it is now done on actual attendance at the game and not tickets sold