BRADFORD Bulls have confirmed that they were one of the 15 Betfred Championship and League 1 clubs to vote in favour of IMG's 'Reimagining Rugby League' proposals.

A great source of debate over the last few weeks and months, the plans have split many in the sport, with Bulls' neighbours, Keighley Cougars, firmly and publicly against them.

But Cougars were heavily outvoted in Huddersfield yesterday, despite an extraordinary statement before the meeting from co-owner Kaue Garcia, in which he accused clubs in favour of being "accomplices to tragedy", and the 'remagination' of the sport will proceed.

In a nutshell, clubs will be assessed on a number of factors, such as academies, facilities, and fan engagement, going forward and receive a grading, which will ultimately determine whether they can appear in Super League or not.

On-field performance will still play a part, but only be worth a quarter of a club's total grade, with 2023 marking the last season of automatic promotion and relegation between Super League and the Championship.

In a club statement, Bulls said: "The Board of Bradford Bulls have confirmed that in line with the vast majority of clubs, they supported the IMG, RFL-backed, proposals to implement a holistic grading approach to assess all aspects of club performance, as part of the drive to improve standards across the sport.

"The Bulls gave in depth and comprehensive consideration to the IMG proposals to assess clubs more holistically in their development and performance.

"While not perfect, the Board recognised that all clubs should be charged with improving standards across the board, including finance, facilities, marketing and player development, as well as the performance of first teams.

"Crucial in our evaluation was the reconfirmation of the aspiration to increase the size of Super League in future years, as more and more clubs achieve the standards and levels of excellence that the RFL and IMG are seeking.

"Knowing that every club in membership can work progressively towards admittance to the top league was a fundamental dimension.

"Grading will not suddenly transform the sport overnight, but it should provide encouragement to all clubs to make progress across the board.

"While the grading proposals have dominated the media over the past few months, the Bulls now look forward to the debate moving on to how the sport’s “Reimagining” considers league and season structure going forward."