Wakefield Trinity’s place back in the Betfred Super League is set to be confirmed on Wednesday when the sport’s governing body and its strategic partner IMG release their first official grades which will determine the make-up of next year’s competition.
Under a system rubber-stamped by a large majority of clubs last April, automatic promotion and relegation was scrapped in favour of rankings determined by scores across five ‘pillars’ - fandom, on-field performance, finance, stadium and community.
Based on those scores, clubs have been allotted A, B or C grades, with those in the top tier guaranteed a place in Super League, and the remaining places in the 12-team structure filled by the highest-scoring B grade clubs.
Fears of controversy and potential legal threats look to have been averted as the grading scores have mirrored on-field events: Wakefield - who thumped Toulouse 36-0 to win the Championship Grand Final at the weekend - have earned enough points to automatically return to Super League in place of London Broncos, who finished bottom in 2024.
Improvements on and off the field at Belle Vue are likely to make Wakefield one of an increased number of clubs to attain an A grade, as well as Leigh and potentially even Castleford.
They will join clubs who were awarded the top level in the indicative grades at the start of the season - Leeds, Wigan, St Helens, Catalans Dragons, Warrington and Hull KR - in achieving top-flight immunity. But Hull FC are set to be the only club to lose their initial ‘A’ status due to a torrid season on and off the pitch.
Salford and Huddersfield are likely to retain their respective top-flight places, keeping the likes of Toulouse and Bradford at bay, although the numbers are likely to constrict, making the chances of a similar seamless transition at the end of the 2025 campaign unlikely.
The expected results will not allay concerns over the apparent ease with which it is possible to attain an A grade, which could lead to an automatic expansion of Super League from 12 to at least 14 in 2025 - an increase that is strongly opposed by a number of top clubs.
But officials will point to tangible improvements at the likes of Wakefield, who have completed construction of a new 2,500-capacity stand since their demotion from the top flight in 2023, and Castleford, who have installed extra seating at The Jungle, as evidence of the scheme’s push for improvement.
At the lower end of the professional structure, Whitehaven, who were relegated from the Championship to League One last month, announced on Tuesday that their grading will be missing from the announcement, having missed the deadline to submit the required documents to Rugby Football League headquarters.
