London Broncos set for Super League return despite 16th-place grading
London Broncos are set to become the 15th team in Super League next season, despite finishing only 16th in rugby league’s official club rankings. The Guardian reported the plan on 8 October.
The rankings, known as the club gradings, decide who plays in Super League. Clubs are scored out of 20 on factors including crowds, results on the field and finances. The top 14 qualify by right.
This year that top 14 is unchanged from last season. Those clubs are guaranteed a Super League place in 2027.
Wakefield Trinity finished top of the 2026 gradings with 17.85 points. Leeds Rhinos were second and one of eight clubs to reach Grade A status, which means 15 points or more.
London sit two places below the cut-off in 16th. They sit behind Barrow Raiders, who are ranked as the best-performing Championship club in the system. The Championship is the division below Super League.
Yet London are in line for the extra place. The reason is money and geography.
Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL), the world’s richest league competition, has made any investment partnership with Super League conditional on London being in the top flight. Talks over the NRL taking administrative control of Super League are aiming for agreement during the upcoming World Cup in Australia.
London’s on-field case is strong. The club won all three domestic trophies on offer in the Championship in 2026. The Broncos are owned by Darren Lockyer, the former captain of the Kangaroos, Australia’s national rugby league team.
The context is a period of rapid change. Super League has already grown from 12 teams to 14, with Bradford Bulls and York Knights coming in as newcomers. Bradford replaced Salford for the 2026 season, a year after Wakefield Trinity replaced London in 2025 after securing Grade A status.
A 15-team league playing each other home and away would push the regular season from 27 games to 29. It would also require bye rounds, which are scheduled weeks off used to balance the fixture list when there is an odd number of teams.
For fans, this means a familiar tension. Sporting merit points one way, towards Barrow. Commercial pull points the other, towards the capital.
