[quote="The Phantom Horseman":3sbc7qu2]Surely this has been comprehensively debunked by what we are seeing with Salford - if you could actually judge a club's status by their grading, there's no way they would have been just a point away from a Grade A. The fact that London were able to soar from a basement grade of 8.07 in 2024 to a grade of 12.65 simply on the back of a year in SL with all its IMG-point benefits highlights that the grades hide as much as they show.[/quote:3sbc7qu2] They finished 4th, and have some decent league positions to fall back on, yet they were a grand final win for Toulouse away from losing their spot. They're artificially boosted by the population of Salford, but the gradings have suitably placed the club despite its on field, relative, successes.

[quote="homme vaste":2q3cw5tu]I think it`s pretty subjective on which clubs would make the competition `stronger` so I`m not sure it`s as simple as saying just look the IMG scores, although in practice I know that is how the system works, but this Salford situation just shows the system up really... York might have a screen to the right pixels, have some LED boards around the perimeter of there pitch but do they have the potential to average 15k fans with a decent team like Bradford could?[/quote:2q3cw5tu] And I think the gradings are the closest thing you can get to objectivity. I think a strong club does have LED boards around the pitch, along with a competitive squad, solid finances, a funded marketing team, a community programme, good attendances, and pretty much everything that’s covered in the gradings. I think a strong club has other things that aren’t covered - like a productive academy - but it’s a good effort. The LED boards (and directors seats) always get brought up as a rhetorical tactic to make the whole system seem trivial, but we all know it’s a tiny part of an overall grade of which attendance and performance - as you mention above - are a bigger part. As for York, yes, I don’t think they have the potential to get bigger crowds than Bradford, but they do have the potential to be a better team, and they arguably greater potential in other areas. Whereas Toulouse, who IMG ‘objectively’ see as the 13th strongest club, have greater potential in every single area.

[quote="Butcher":mwhr8ejw]And I think the gradings are the closest thing you can get to objectivity. I think a strong club does have LED boards around the pitch, along with a competitive squad, solid finances, a funded marketing team, a community programme, good attendances, and pretty much everything that’s covered in the gradings. I think a strong club has other things that aren’t covered - like a productive academy - but it’s a good effort. The LED boards (and directors seats) always get brought up as a rhetorical tactic to make the whole system seem trivial, but we all know it’s a tiny part of an overall grade of which attendance and performance - as you mention above - are a bigger part. As for York, yes, I don’t think they have the potential to get bigger crowds than Bradford, but they do have the potential to be a better team, and they arguably greater potential in other areas. Whereas Toulouse, who IMG ‘objectively’ see as the 13th strongest club, have greater potential in every single area.[/quote:mwhr8ejw] I agree with pretty much all that until the last part. Toulouse certainly don’t have greater potential in every area. Their crowds have been going in reverse, their team while good isn’t to the level of last years trinity or previously Leigh. They would be lucky to last 2 seasons in SL imo with crowds barely above 2k, the costs associated with logistics abs building a competitive team. Catalans manage it with a much higher attendence just about but even they’ve found it challenging in places. Toulouse SL year drops off this year so they will lose points. I expect they’ll miss out and end up packing their bags for 2026.

I agree they haven’t been great on a few fronts this year. But the key word is potential. They’ve occasionally attracted crowds of 6,000 (9,000 against Catalans when their season was dead) and they’d return to that fairly quickly if admitted back in. But moreover it’s France’s fourth biggest city, more than a million people, with all the commercial opportunities that brings, and underpinned by a junior and amateur scene that’s much bigger than Salford or York’s. Apologies for getting way off topic with this, just enjoying the debate.

[quote="Butcher":cbr7hgdc]I agree they haven’t been great on a few fronts this year. But the key word is potential. They’ve occasionally attracted crowds of 6,000 (9,000 against Catalans when their season was dead) and they’d return to that fairly quickly if admitted back in. But moreover it’s France’s fourth biggest city, more than a million people, with all the commercial opportunities that brings, and underpinned by a junior and amateur scene that’s much bigger than Salford or York’s. Apologies for getting way off topic with this, just enjoying the debate.[/quote:cbr7hgdc] Yeah pity that like Catalans they probably wouldn't bring any of their support with them. They should have their own SL - my opinion only.

And a fair opinion, that’s definitely the downside. Though I’m a believer (optimist more like) that clubs shouldn’t be relying on away support to fill their ground or their coffers. How good was the grand final? The fact there weren’t any Toulousains there didn’t spoil it for me.