The clubs set for major IMG performance drops including relegation candidates

It’s set to be a compelling few months on the field – and off it too, with clubs starting to prepare for what their IMG score could look like by the autumn.

And a major aspect of every club’s final grading position is how they fare on-field. Performance takes up a quarter of the overall 20 points available, with four of the five points in that field covered by where a team finishes on the ladder.

It’s not quite as simple as that – with an average of every finish across the three most recent seasons and if a team makes the play-offs, it’s how far they get in that, compared to their actual league finish, that determines the placings.

For example, if a team finishes fifth but goes all the way to the Grand Final and wins it, they are ranked first for that season.

And with the 2022 seasonal positions dropping off the average this year to be replaced by 2025, it’s highly likely some clubs are going to take a big hit. Here are the ones in big danger of a major drop.

Huddersfield Giants

The Giants finished third in 2022 but were beaten in the first round of the play-offs. That gives them a finish in the IMG system of fifth for that season – and there’s no way they’re going to come close to matching that this year.

Their drop-off will be steep, and given how they’re already seen as one of the two teams in threat of dropping out of Super League, how low they finish this year could really prove to be decisive.

Are Huddersfield in danger of being relegated? If they do go down, their performance score will have had a huge say.

Salford Red Devils

Worryingly – or encouragingly, if you’re a top Championship team – the other team that are near the bottom of the top 12 are also going to have a huge drop.

The smart money at this moment in time would be on Salford finishing 12th in 2025. In 2022, they made it to the play-off semi-finals, resulting in a finish of fourth. That is a huge drop and a major change to their performance score coming over the horizon.

With other areas likely to suffer too as a result of their issues, Salford feel like another team in big trouble.

St Helens

The Saints are a Grade A club and will remain so whatever happens this year. But their performance score will take a hit barring a sizable miracle.

That’s because in 2022, they were champions of Super League – meaning they’d have to replicate that to keep their ranking from three years ago.

At this moment in time, it feels unlikely. But you never know.

Featherstone Rovers

It’s hard to believe that in recent years, Fev were consistently pushing for Super League. Unfortunately, under the IMG system, their chances of making the elite appear over for now.

And that will be reflected further by an IMG score drop this year in performance. They made the play-off semi-finals three years ago – this time, they might not even make the top six.

Unfortunately for Rovers, their score will likely drop off in 2025.

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