The eye of the tiger, the thrill of the fight

This weekend saw us enter the home straight of the Super League season and the way that the fixtures fell meant that, whatever the results, we were going to see some drama.

On Friday night, Hull KR travelled to Wigan knowing that a win would put them on the brink of winning the League Leaders' Shield. The reverse result would put Wigan as overwhelming favourites.

St Helens needed one win from three matches to all but secure play off rugby, to continue their record of being the only side to compete in every Super League play off series.

Catalans' season had entered do-or-die territory as they faced Salford. The Red Devils would take a huge step towards play off rugby with a win and a huge backwards step with a loss.

Leigh and Leeds also faced opponents who they would be expected to beat, knowing there was no room for error.

Yet the story of the weekend, in terms of the long term future of Super League, involved the side who sit 10th in the league. Castleford Tigers. On the field, Castleford's season has been over for some time. No danger of finishing bottom. No danger of troubling the play offs. Craig Lingard's first season has brought incremental improvements.

But irrespective of whether Castleford collected the wooden spoon or defied all the odds and surged to the top of the table, that is not where the club's focus has been this year. They were spooked by a possibility of ejection from Super League at the end of 2024.

A new form of licensing system has come in place in which teams are 'graded' against a set of criteria and annually reviewed. The top 12 graded teams will form Super League in 2025.

In 2023, a set of indicative gradings were released showing Castleford in 13th spot. Had the system been live, they would have been demoted.

There were complaints that incorrect data was used which, had that error not been made, would have seen Castleford in 11th spot (according to the club). That was almost immaterial. Error or no error, Castleford stood on the brink.

So what have the club done since? They have relentlessly prioritised securing more points in the grading system rather than points on the field ahead of 'go-live' in October.

Castleford released an update about where they stand in the new grading system recently (click here to read). Key points include:

- Improving their on field standing to 9th in Super League would make no difference.
- Owner investment and a healthier balance sheet has increased their points total.
- Installation of a big screen, new seating, LED advertising boards and improved media facilities amongst other things will see Castleford gain maximum points for their stadium.

"You can't polish a turd" cried fans of other clubs when talking about Castleford's stadium. 

To one extent, Castleford could not win. Make no effort to improve their facilities, they get criticised. Begin to make small improvements, they still get criticised.

Turning directly to address "the turd", that (allegedly) cannot be polished. Castleford's stadium is clearly unsatisfactory for the 21st century. But by focusing on precisely what the criteria state, Castleford will secure maximum points for their stadium.

They will likely secure more points than clubs with far more modern stadiums, such as Hull FC, Salford and Huddersfield, because they have primacy of tenure and as a percentage, their stadium is more full. 

You can't polish a turd, they say? Castleford have shown that was exactly what IMG have asked for. 

In a baffling irony, should Castleford improve their stadium further they will receive no more points in the grading system. Quite the opposite, stadium improvements may reduce their number of points if this led to a temporary capacity reduction and average attendance reduction.

Despite this, plans are afoot to take Wheldon Road into the 21st century and I hope that they materialise.

Contrary to popular belief, I doubt Castleford fans enjoy watching a match with an uncovered end, a dated main stand, crumbling terraces and toilet facilities where the less is spoken of them the better. 

The final area where Castleford were looking to improve their grading score was to achieve an average attendance over the last three years of 7,500 +.

The club teetered very close to that line. A big crowd for their final home match against Leigh this weekend, they likely get those points. A slightly below average crowd, they probably don't.

The club embarked on a significant marketing campaign, with reduced ticket prices and got over that threshold.

Nobody knows what any team will score in the new grading system and nobody knows who will be in Super League next year. Anyone who tells you differently is mistaken because so much of the information is not available to the public.

Yet I sense that Castleford must be confident of a Super League place in 2025 for their director to give an interview to Love Rugby League last week, saying there is "every possibility" that Castleford will secure a "Grade A licence".

As a reminder, a Grade A licence secures immunity from relegation from Super League for as long as you can maintain that score. The longer a club is in Super League, the easier it gets to retain a place. That is why survival this year is so key.

By contrast, Championship clubs face an uphill battle with lower crowds and no broadcast deal amongst other inherent difficult-to-overcome hurdles built into the criteria that a club must meet to join the elite.

It is clear that Castleford have prioritised off-field matters in order to secure Super League status over on-field investment. Head Coach Craig Lingard has expressed frustration regarding a lack of recruitment for 2025. 

I am sure that the club's fans will be frustrated at on-field stagnation too. I also believe many will understand why Castleford has acted as they have. The club knows where it must invest to survive. This system means that, right now, on field success is not a priority.

Recruiting for next year is hard when you won't know if you are going to be in Super League for more than a month after the season ends. But the more you can improve your score, the more secure your place gets and then hopefully recruitment becomes easier.

The reverse of that situation is the sound of a drawbridge being pulled up on sides not in Super League.

So despite this weekend seeing a battle for the League Leaders' Shield and the play off race near its exciting climax, the reality is both were insignificant by comparison to the number of people who went through a turnstile at Castleford. 

The attendance count at Castleford v Leigh will have had a more profound impact on what Super League looks like in the long term than anything else that happened this weekend.

Whichever two of St Helens, Catalans, Salford, Leigh and Leeds miss out on a play off spot; they are likely to have another chance next year (although Salford and Leigh are not safe from the trapdoor either).

Even for Hull KR who look for a first major trophy since 1985, if they miss out, they will have another chance next year.

If Castleford did not secure that 7,500+ crowd on Friday night and did not secure those extra points towards their grade and ultimately faced relegation from Super League, getting back in would be an uphill struggle.

I sense that many wider Rugby League fans did not realise the significance of this and turned their attention to the far more exciting on-field action this weekend (the true significance of Castleford's weekend will only become apparent on 23rd October 2024, when the make-up of next year's Super League is confirmed).

I am glad this was the case too. 

The new reality which we face means that you get as many points towards your licence / grade for installing LED advertising boards and a big screen as you do for winning the Super League.

I would suggest a system which ranks these two as equal may have misaligned priorities.