Explaining how on-field results could decide promotion and relegation in 2026

Barring a major turnaround from the sport’s administrators – and you can never rule that out – IMG’s criteria will decide the teams that are playing in Super League in 2026 once again this year.

Whether it is the top 12 or 14 performing teams in the criteria that get the nod will be finalised at a Super League clubs meeting next week. As was the case last year, a whole plethora of metrics will comprise the gradings: but there is one that looks increasingly likely to be important as things stand.

And it’s good news for fans of traditional promotion and relegation: because on-field performance could effectively be the decisive factor for teams both inside and outside of Super League as it stands, even if the status quo remains at 12 teams.

Clubs can score up to five points in the performance aspect of the grading, with an average league finish over the most recent three-season period allowing for a maximum of four points, with bonus points on offer for teams that win trophies in the most recent year: so in this case, 2025.

There have been two teams perceived to be most vulnerable of dropping out of the elite this year: Huddersfield Giants and Salford Red Devils. That is largely down to the fact that they were 11th and 12th in the gradings last year.

But there’s also the fact that the pair are about to lose a chunk of points in the performance criteria, bringing them closer to the top Championship sides in the scores.

Last year, Huddersfield were ranked 9th overall based on their league finishes in 2022, 2023 and 2024, giving them a performance score of 3.1111.

This year, they will trade their fifth-placed finish (based on when they exited the play-offs) for a finish of 11th as it stands. That would knock them down to 10th in the live rankings, giving them a performance score of 3.0000.

It’s even more bleak for Salford. They will trade in a fourth-placed finish in 2022 by virtue of reaching the play-off semi-finals for, as it stands, 12th. That is going to take them down from a fifth-placed overall ranking in performance to eighth: lowering the points they get from 3.5556 to 3.2222.

It is therefore safe to assume that with other metrics thrown into the mix – and their perilous financial position – Salford are, by some stretch, the most vulnerable club if the competition remains at 12 teams.

Many clubs expect to put increases on their scores in other areas, so it is performance that is doubly important. And there are two sides to this story: with two Championship clubs in particular set to post big jumps in the points they will get.

The current Championship league leaders are York Knights. They have already secured 0.1 bonus points and in the live system, are set for a performance points score of 2.5444. That is up from 2.3333 last year.

Bradford Bulls are currently third, and will jump from 2.2222 points to 2.5556 if things stay as they are. Of course, final league positions are based on progression in the play-offs, which means there is a very interesting scenario looming over the horizon.

In short: the Championship Grand Final – where the winner gets 0.25 points – could effectively decide who is promoted to Super League for 2026 if it is a 12-team competition.

If York won it and Salford finished bottom, that would represent a swing of 0.8 points between the two teams’ performance scores. If Bradford won it and Salford finished bottom, that would be a swing of almost one whole point.

It’s just as tantalising a prospect if Toulouse went on and won it too, given how they were just 0.39 points behind Salford on the overall gradings out of a possible 20 last year.

With that in mind, here are the current performance score changes for Super League’s bottom three and the Championship’s top three (as it stands on July 22 with 0.25 points to be added to Championship winners):

So while every club will be trying to achieve points in as many different areas as possible, it is what happens on the field that could be the most important thing to track over the coming months.

Should Salford finish last, and the Championship Grand Final be between two of York, Toulouse and Bradford, then things are going to get very, very interesting later this year.

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