BRADFORD Bulls' Chief Executive Officer Jason Hirst provided an update at Tuesday night's Fans' Forum, on the club’s progress in relation to IMG’s grading criteria.

As it stands, only seven clubs have Grade A status, in Leeds, St Helens, Wigan, Catalans, Hull Kingston Rovers, Hull FC and Warrington, thus guaranteeing their spot in Super League for 2025.

The five highest-scoring clubs below that will join them, which, when the indicative ranking were released last October, were Salford, Huddersfield, Toulouse, Wakefield and Leigh.

But with Wakefield and Leigh, who had scores of 12.52 and 12.45 respectively, only outscoring Bulls (12.02) by around half a point at that time, the Odsal outfit will have hopes of overhauling them ahead of the 2025 season.

There are a number of criteria that will be under consideration when evaluating which clubs deserve their place in rugby league’s top division, and Bulls’ CEO Hirst gave an update on where the club currently are in relation to those certain criteria.

Here’s what he had to say:

FANDOM

- Average attendance in 2023 was 3,677 – next threshold is 7,000. A rise in attendance has obvious links to improving the Finance metric also. In 2024 we are targeting a minimum of 4,000 per game.

- Our 12-month rolling Engagement figure has increased by 45% since the last grading. Supporters are encouraged to continue liking, commenting and sharing content across the club’s five main Social Media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube).

PERFORMANCE

- The club recognizes the importance of a successful season on the field, which has led to quality additions in the squad with more to follow.

- If we win the 1895 Cup, we will gain an extra 0.1 points.

- If we win Championship Grand Final, we will gain an extra 0.25 points.

- If we finish runner up in Championship Grand Final, we will gain an extra 0.15 points.

FINANCE

- New owner investment over the last 12 months has increased our score for the next round of grading in the second half of this year.

- The club continues to seek and welcome additional investment. Companies House will show a small profit for the 2023 Financial Year.

STADIUM

- A big enabler is securing the Odsal lease. We have taken down the old Pavilion Bar with thanks to a very generous sponsor, and it is being replaced which will lead to an improved score.

COMMUNITY

- We score well in the Catchment/Community metric and that will continue to be the case in the next round of grading.