Salford Red Devils boss Paul Rowley insists performances must rely more on IMG rankings, and said that in any other area of ​​life the actions of decision-makers could well be considered illegal.

The Red Devils are one of three clubs that will participate in Super League in 2025 without Grade A status having received a score of 13.97 out of 20 from IMG before next year.

This score actually puts them at the bottom of the table in terms of Super League 2025 clubs, with 11th-placed Huddersfield Giants 0.51 points ahead of them.

Under Rowley’s tutelage, Salford have finished 6th, 7th and 4th over the last three seasons – the barometer by which clubs’ ‘performance’ score is calculated by IMG. However, performance only counts for five points out of a total of 20 available.

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And that’s what doesn’t sit well with the Red Devils head coach, who will serve as director of rugby at the club from 2026 with current assistant Kurt Haggerty to take the coaching reins.

Salford have already released a club statement expressing their concerns over the scoring criteria.and speaking on BBC Radio Manchester during Sunday’s international clash between England and Samoa, Rowley shared his views.

The 49-year-old said: “I like the fact that they are raising standards.

“The teams that went from B to A worked a lot on all their grades, so I don’t regret it at all.

“I simply think that the weighting is not in favor of performance, far from sufficient. This should be the majority, in my opinion.

“I would have liked to see, personally, that 50% of the total score be based on performance, and then the remaining 50% accrued from the facets you just mentioned previously (Fandom, Finance, Stadium and Community).

“For every (grade) B club, there is actually a time bomb”

Salford Red Devils head coach Paul Rowley says performance on the pitch requires a higher reward.#SuperLeague #BBCRL

– BBC Sport Manchester (@BBCRMSport) October 27, 2024

“But when it comes to performance, again, we can handle as athletes that you are relegated in terms of performance. It’s hard to bear and it always crushes your dreams, your mortgages, your weddings, your vacations, your children’s education.

“We are human beings, everyone, and we are stuck in a time bomb. The boards of every club that are on (a grade) B, there is effectively now a time bomb.

“We can say, ‘Well, it’s up to the clubs, it’s their responsibility to upgrade and do whatever it takes – get the screen, get the pixels,’ whatever it may be .

“Yet 80 to 90 percent of companies, in terms of numbers, do not have enough influence on their own destiny. This cannot be true in any area of ​​life.

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“Not only does this seem inhumane and immoral, but to someone somewhere it seems slightly illegal to me, in any other area of ​​life”

With an on-field performance worth up to five points, the other 15 IMG points can be earned by clubs as follows:

• Fandom (5 points): includes match attendance, TV viewership, social media following and website visits.
• Finance (4.5 points): evaluated on profitability, financial stability and diversification of sources of income.
• Stadium (3 points): The stadium and other facilities would be evaluated.
• Community (2.5 points): Evaluation of fan base potential in relation to fan base, as well as community and charity work.

Clubs need a minimum of 15 points to achieve Grade A status, so Salford – as things stand – are 1.03 points away from achieving it.

In his discussion with BBC Radio Manchester commentators Trevor Hunt and Jack Dearden, Rowley continued: “You imagine Trevor and Jack doing great work on the radio, but then you bring in two other guys because you just don’t like where they live or the house they live in.

“Their work is not redundant, you can’t do that. In a certain area of ​​life it not only seems inhumane and immoral, but to someone somewhere it seems slightly illegal to me, in any other area of ​​life.

“I’m just starting a little argument, but that’s my first reaction.

“I love the improvements, don’t get me wrong. I like that we want to increase them and improve everything in the game, but I just worry about people and human beings, it hurts.

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