Bradford Bulls and IMG: Possible postives and negatives

Clubs are now sifting through the recently-released handbook, which confirms the exact grading criteria, and working out exactly what it means for them going forward, with the Bulls no exception.

After a dummy run next year, the system will be fully implemented from 2025 onwards, with clubs being judged on a variety of factors, to determine what league they might be in and what grade they might receive.

The full handbook can be accessed here if you want to peruse the finer details, and while there are wildly differing theories and workings out on the grade and points total Bulls might get, hence why it feels ill-advised to speculate at this stage exactly what that might be, we thought we’d take a look at where we can expect Bulls to come out strong, and where they may come up short.

GOOD

Fandom – Bulls tick a few boxes here, in a category that is worth 25 per cent of their overall grade.

They have averaged over 3,000 at home games so far this season, so are one of the few Championship teams to score two points for that marker.

Nearly 5,000 fans watched Bulls' opening day win against Whitehaven at Odsal. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Social media followers and engagement is high too, with the club having that traditionally large fanbase. For example, they have just under 40,000 followers on Twitter at present, compared to the 15,000 mark of current Betfred Championship play-off rivals Batley and Sheffield.

Viewership also counts for valuable points in this section, and with Viaplay Sports knowing they can rely on Bulls fans to tune in, the club have had more televised Monday night rugby league than any other side this year, including Viaplay’s only two July games.

Academy + number of teams – Bulls have nine teams under their umbrella, and also have Elite Academy status, which only London and Newcastle have among the other Championship sides.

They have this until 2027, have George Flanagan Jr and potentially Myles Lawford on the move to Super League, and having recently been audited, know their academy is in good shape.

Initially, it was proposed that the women’s team would need to be in Super League for it to apply positively to the IMG grading, but that does not seem to be the case now, so the mere existence of their well-established ladies set-up looks set to suffice.

With the club investing heavily in disability rugby league too, they have one of the most diverse range of teams on offer.

Catchment and Foundation – Bulls are set to score the maximum possible points on catchment (1.5), sharing a Local Authority with only Keighley and being a big city.

Bulls and Keighley would actually both benefit from the catchment part of the grading. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Conversely, the likes of Featherstone and Wakefield are only set to score 0.5 points each on that front.

The club also have an active Foundation, hold events with schools and community rugby clubs across the district, and help put on camps and themed days at Odsal.

The Foundation is judged over the previous three years, which bodes well, as the club and charity are now doing more than ever to make Bradford Bulls an inclusive community for all.

BAD

Facilities – The stadium at Odsal is old school and does need upgrading, which is why missing out on the £50m levelling up bid was a blow.

The press box is tight and cramped with no TV monitor, certainly below the standards required by IMG, while you can all but forget about working WiFi.

Points are also scored in the criteria for having LEDs and a big screen, Bulls have neither, though on the bright side, there has never been any issue with the club having priority over the stock cars, so that should not affect their primacy of tenure score.

However, the fact that Odsal can hold over 26,000 fans, with Bulls rarely getting any more than a sixth of that, will hamper their "utilisation" score.

Performance – A tricky one, as this could still depend on how this current season goes.

But finishing ninth last season, and nowhere near the Betfred Championship play-offs, could affect them in the long run, as the performance criteria is based over the last three seasons.

Bulls' performances last season could hurt them going forward. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

It therefore feels imperative that Bradford earn a top-six berth this year to help boost their IMG grade, but with Halifax, London and Widnes looming menacingly below them, they cannot afford too many more slip-ups like on Monday night against the latter.

Finances – Now there is some good news here, with CEO Jason Hirst declaring that Bulls are financially sound before the start of this season.

And luckily, the criteria only stretches back three years, so those past administrations and liquidations, on paper, will not come back to haunt Bulls.

However, “financially sound” does not necessarily equal profit and turnover.

Hirst has already admitted how much help from outsiders and the club itself has to go into keeping the academy running, while Bulls are also reliant on the stock cars to keep the money coming in at Odsal, not just the rugby league.

The investment in the squad bodes well, with some Super League quality in the ranks, and we have been told the player budget is largely on a consistent level from year to year.

But with the club still dealing with mistakes made in the past, which includes paying back an historic loan to the RFL, the club appear to need to apply "sensible recovery" mode, over “huge profits” mode.