Winners and losers from Super League expansion including ‘nailed on’ Championship side

Super League will once again become a 14-team competition in 2026 for the first time in a decade after plans were approved to expand as early as next year.

Nine of the 12 top-flight clubs agreed to extend the competition next year – but with some stringent conditions attached and with a somewhat convoluted process to get to 14.

The top 12 clubs in the IMG gradings system in October will be granted automatic access to Super League for 2026, as would have been the case this year.

But now, two more teams will be chosen by an independent panel that will be announced at a later date. The criteria for that selection has not been made public: in fact, it has not even been agreed privately yet.

And perhaps unsurprisingly, that news will impact a whole heap of clubs in different ways. Here’s who the big winners and losers from the announcement are.

Winners

There’s no doubting two teams in particular stand a much better chance under the eyes of the panel – and they are Bradford Bulls and London Broncos.

The Broncos have already confirmed they will be putting in an application and this pathway represents their best chance of playing in Super League in 2026. They would not be in the mix in the IMG system, even if it were the top 14 ranked clubs.

Suddenly, the prospect of London back in the top flight next year appears to be more possible than ever before.

It also seems to be the case for the Bulls, who have two good shots at it now. They are quietly confident they can accrue an IMG score that would put them in and around the top 12 but it’s still likely that there are 12 teams who score better than them.

But they’ll put a strong application in for Super League to the panel, and will be one of the overwhelming favourites to get in. They feel increasingly nailed on for a spot.

Oldham are another who, like London, have a heightened chance of being in now the system has inexplicably changed at the last minute.

And some existing Super League clubs will benefit from this, too.

Losers

There are two big losers: the two who were banking on a 14-team Super League based off IMG gradings alone.

York Knights and Toulouse both remain confident that come October, they could have accrued enough points to be potentially 12th in the gradings at the expense of Salford.

It has been put to Love Rugby League by sources who were in Monday’s meeting that the two clubs now appear to be locked in a direct fight for that 12th spot: and the loser of that may end up missing out, with other clubs likely to get the nod from an independent panel.

Salford Red Devils may also have been optimistic of being in the top 14 gradings-wise, but their case is unlikely to be popular with a panel given what they’ve been through this year.