Wakefield Trinity 'pleased' with IMG ranking but expect score to rise in 2024

Trinity, who will play in the Betfred Championship next term, have been ranked 11th in the ‘indicative’ phase of a new grading process being introduced by the RFL and sport marketing giant IMG. The 12 highest-ranked teams at the end of next season will secure a place in Super League for 2024.

Clubs were marked on playing performance, fandom, finances, stadium and community, with Trinity receiving a B grade after scoring 12.52 out of 20. A club statement said that was “an improvement from the provisional score of 11.14 indicated to us in August, largely due to the strong financial figures contained in our recently filed accounts and progress in our social media reach”.

Despite disappointment at the club’s score for catchment, the statement added: “Our results are particularly pleasing because they do not yet reflect the impact of our new East Stand which will be completed next month. We expect the facilities within the new stand to significantly lift our score when it is recalculated in October 2024. [Owner] Matt Ellis and his new team also have several areas they are working on which are expected to yield even more progress.”

Reacting to the grading, Ellis – whose takeover was finalised this week – insisted: “Wakefield Trinity is a club heading for the highest levels of the game. The illustrative grading scores demonstrate a solid foundation for us to build on in 2024, both on and off the field, as Daryl [Powell, Wakefield’s new coach] builds a team focussed on success in the Championship. We have our eyes firmly set on a return to Super League in 2025.”

Castleford Tigers were ranked 13th, with a score of 12.16. Without an improvement next year that would leave them outside Super League for 2024, but the club say an admin error cost them a place in the top-12 and have appealed.