Rhinos welcome number one grading ranking

Leeds Rhinos Chief Executive Gary Hetherington has welcomed the outcome of the new club grading process that is being introduced as part of Rugby League Commercial and IMG's 'Reimagining Rugby League' strategy.

Leeds Rhinos were one of seven Betfred Super League clubs have been awarded Grade A status in the indicative phase and were ranked number one with an overall score of 17.49 out of the maximum available 20, following detailed analysis of every club's performance under five pillars - On-Field Performance, Fandom, Finances, Stadium and Community.

The results for your club in each category were as follows: 

Commenting on the process, Hetherington said, "We are naturally very pleased to have scored so well in all areas of the club grading phase and this reflects well on the quality and performance of our management and staff. 

"They have all worked hard over a number of years to improve the service we provide to our fans, members and partners. Through the outstanding work of the Leeds Rhinos Foundation, the Rhinos relationship through out the local community is a real source of pride for us all. 

"Whilst we are pleased with these results, we will not be complacent and the process has identified a number of areas where we can improve and we will be striving to do so. We look forward to working with IMG and RL Commercial on developing the grading criteria in the months ahead as we approach a big season for the sport in 2024," added Hetherington. 

Full details of the grading criteria were published in early 2023 - IMG & Rugby League Grading Criteria 2023.pdf (rugby-league.com) - with clubs receiving the grading criteria handbook later in the spring, which has also been published given the emphasis on transparency throughout the process Rugby League Grading Handbook Updated.pdf (rugby-league.com)