London Broncos shut out of Super League despite treble-winning season
London Broncos won every trophy on offer in the Championship but will still be outside Super League next season.
The yearly IMG gradings have locked the door. All 14 current Super League clubs keep their places, while treble-winning London sit 16th in the rankings and miss out, according to figures reported by BBC Sport.
For anyone new to rugby league, this is the strange part. Promotion is not decided by results alone. Clubs are scored out of 20 on five measures: fan experience, finances, stadium, community work and on-field performance. The top flight is then picked from those scores, not just the league table.
London topped the Championship regular-season standings and then won the play-off Grand Final, the title decider, alongside the 1895 Cup, the knockout competition for clubs outside Super League. Their grading score fell to 9.77 from 11.65 last year. That left them one place below Barrow Raiders, who were 15th on 9.85.
The gap to safety was wide. York Knights, 14th in the gradings, scored 13.24. Toulouse Olympique, 13th, also finished with a higher score than last year.
At the top, there is a new leader. Wakefield Trinity finished first in the ratings with 17.85. That matches the record score set by Hull KR 12 months ago.
Leeds Rhinos stayed second on 17.03. Warrington Wolves climbed from sixth to third on 16.72. St Helens slipped in the other direction, dropping from third to seventh on 15.59.
Castleford Tigers were the big climbers. Up from 11th in 2025 to eighth on 15.03, they moved into Category A. That is the gold-standard bracket that guarantees a Super League place. Catalans Dragons and Hull FC went the other way. Ranked ninth and 10th, both dropped from an A to a B grade but still retain their Super League spots.
Only six of the 14 Super League clubs improved their scores compared with 12 months ago.
For fans, this means the debate will run on. League rewards steady crowds, solid books and strong grounds as well as wins. Clubs that dominate on the pitch can still fall short if the off-field numbers do not add up.
There was better news for London in the women's game. London Broncos Women beat Leigh Leopards in the Promotion Play-Off Final to earn a place in the 2027 Betfred Women's Super League, Super League confirmed.
