Bongser feels relieved rather than elated but well done to the club all the same.

The moment Derek said we could and would be Grade A a while back I was relieved, though I do admit to a “squeak” or two from the nether regions every time an email popped into my inbox on Wednesday (and several were about sponsors etc).
You have to admire Derek. He doesn’t agree with the rules of the IMG game, but he still knows how to play by them, to ensure that he doesn’t jeopardize the club and can then talk from a point of strength and safety.
To have a full year of champion stats, without knowing that they would even count at the time, and still be able to secure the A Grade is a stroke of magic.
So often the infamous “5 year plan” falls off the rails in the early years. So far, ours continues to impress and surely is ahead of most of our expectations.
Onwards Leythers !

If A grade is achievable by Wakefield and Castleford then surely the criteria is not strict enough. Deggsy stated that he worked with his accountants, moved some loans into sponsorship from AB Sundecks and then the on-field activities did the rest. Honestly I am not very impressed with the whole process, IMG have stolen £.5M from the Super League clubs and have employed recent graduates and interns, to produce not very much. In reality we have the same teams competing in 2025 that we had in 2023 only with a few extra seats, LED advertising hoardings and few extra large screens. The only difference between previous closed shops and this one, is that Leigh are on in the inside, with Toulouse, York and London on the outside peering in.
Former big boys like Bradford and Widnes are so far out of it they may never turn it around.

Ideally Super League needs to expand to 14 teams, to remove loop fixtures and create more interest. This will not happen until the sport can generate more income and National media attention. All games are now televised, but the viewing figures are skewed due to most of the games actually overlapping in broadcast times. The full games need to be archived and available for 3-6 months not dishing up 5 minute highlight reels, even though highlights is all that the youth of today can manage.

IMG need to review the pillars and criteria contained with and make it tougher and more realistic. Average attendances based on rolling 3 years favours Super League clubs and only 3 categories award points, London apparently have a catchment area of the Borough of Merton, even though fans could theoretically come from anywhere in Greater London. Does the catchment area actually make any difference? Leigh and Wigan share Wigan Borough but Leigh fans essentially come from the smaller pool of Leyth, Bent and Bongs. I think Leigh and Castleford are doing a better job engaging with the community say Salford or Huddersfield. Much has been made of the large screens at clubs, with Hull and Leigh having UEFA approved screens that don't receive any points from IMG who want a higher pixel count.

The next few months will bring the IMG contract into a very sharp focus, especially since they have now been sold off.