David Hughes: London Broncos owner flags up IMG grading concerns

London added southern hemisphere talent such as Emmanuel Waine to their crop of homegrown talents

London Broncos owner David Hughes has expressed his concerns with IMG's new grading system, as the newly-promoted Super League club begin the season seemingly certain to be relegated.

From 2024, on-field performance is only one factor in the gradings, so London finishing above bottom is no guarantee of safety given indicative 2023 grades.

Broncos, ranked 24th, were 4.38 points short of the 12th-ranked team Leigh.

"Promotion and relegation should be a staple of all sports," Hughes wrote.

"We are proud of this tradition whereas in other countries promotion and relegation is not always the case. It's what brings the excitement to sport.

"Condemning a club to relegation before a ball has even been kicked takes away the jeopardy and drama that makes the millions tune in week on week, year after year.

"If London Broncos finish the 2024 season in 11th place or higher there has to be a scenario in place in which we stay in the division."

Head coach Mike Eccles was the only part of the Broncos' 2023 set-up to hail from the north, as southern hemisphere imports such as Corey Norman and Dean Whare added to a collective of players drawn from southern British outposts of the sport such as Oli and Bill Leyland, returning prop Rob Butler, and back-rower Will Lovell.

As Rugby League Commercial's strategic partner, IMG's involvement has been introduced with the aim of driving up standards and encouraging clubs to invest in all aspects of infrastructure including the squad.

The breakdown of how a club are awarded points related to criteria met is broken down into segments, with different weightings.

• 25% of the 20 points available are awarded for a club's 'fandom' - which covers both attendances, digital interaction and engagement

• 25% of the points come from on-field performance

• 22.5% of the available points are awarded for financial performance

• 15% of the points can be achieved for the stadium experience - quality of facilities and appearance of stadium in and away from the ground

• 12.5% - the lowest figure - is available to clubs for their community outreach and engagement

Full details of the RFL and IMG's Grading and points accruement.

Leigh, who were ranked 12th, won the Challenge Cup and finished fifth in 2023 and had won the 1895 Cup and gained promotion the previous season - yet would still only just scrape in themselves under those indicative gradings from 2023.

'Open up the conversation'

The last time the Broncos were in Super League in 2019, they were only relegated on the final day of the season on points difference, having won 10 games.

Such a record would have comfortably kept them up in each of the subsequent four seasons, albeit there was no relegation in 2020 because of Toronto's demise.

Relegation coincided with the Covid pandemic, in which all Championship clubs had their seasons expunged after just a handful of games for costs reasons, and the club had also moved back to a part-time set-up.

There was also a switch of stadiums until the club signed a deal with AFC Wimbledon in 2022 to become tenants of Plough Lane, a 9,000-plus all-seater community stadium in south-west London.

London Broncos signed a tenancy agreement to play at the new Plough Lane, home of AFC Wimbledon

While the Broncos closed down their academy, a move Hughes said was driven by the fact "there is no direct reward for having an academy and producing players" and another bone of contention with the grading system, the club are keen to highlight they have a 'Lions Development' programme for bringing through young players from surrounding areas.

"We embrace the challenges that we face by being the only professional club south of the Midlands and the only Super League club south of Castleford [in the United Kingdom]," Hughes added.

"We acknowledge that we still have a long way to go to establish the club and sport within London. However, there can be no denying that due to its size and population, London's potential remains as big as it has ever been.

"Yet despite being in London and being the only professional club in the south of the country, we were awarded the lowest possible score for our catchment area. This needs to be re-looked at."

Hughes, who has been the major part of London's fortunes with his investment, is keen for dialogue with IMG and the governing body around the gradings, which received an 86% support rate when put to clubs back in April 2023.

"We all share the same goal of improving rugby league and we are aware that in scenarios like this it is impossible to universally please everyone," Hughes added.

"London Broncos want to work with IMG to improve as a club and we continue to have the long-term aim of achieving a Grade A status - but we also urge IMG to consider the points being put to them by the many clubs who have raised similar concerns.

"This is not to act as a moan but simply to once again open up the conversation about the criteria being put forward by IMG as how to grow but protect the sport in which we all love."