OLDHAM director Gary Kershaw claimed an un-named rival club deliberately inflated an attendance figure to manipulate IMG points as clubs reacted to the points matrix made public this morning.
The current 14 Super League clubs remain the top 14 on IMG points, which are judged on “fandom, performance, finance, stadium, community and minimum standards”.
Barrow, not London who are expected to be promoted to a 15-team league next year, finished 15th.
In a letter to fans, Kershaw wrote: “I can recall one game where the stated attendance was in excess of 2,000.
“But when I spoke to one of the opposition’s directors, he confessed to me that it was nearer 1,300 than 2,000.
“When I asked why they had done this, I got a very short, succinct answer: ‘IMG’.”
Hunslet CEO Ian Hampshire commented: “This year we’ve lost points due to changes in the Finance and Community pillars.
“These changes seem to benefit Super League Clubs whilst impacting those outside of that bubble.”
Hampshire said Hunslet did not withdraw from the grading process, as other Championship clubs did, because they felt it was their duty to hold the RFL board to account.
“The RFL should be open and transparent about the cost of implementing the system: The initial set up of the grading system, the annual payment to IMG, the cost of the annual audit system, the cost of the appeal system, the number of staff at the RFL involved in monitoring the system and associated staffing costs, the withdrawal costs to the RFL if we were to end the IMG partnership.”
