Rochdale Hornets 2026 IMG grading confirmed

Below, supporters can see an explanation of how Rochdale Hornets scored in IMG’s 2026 club grading process, as part of the ‘Reimagining Rugby League’ strategy.

The Hornets achieved an overall score of 5.12, securing Grade C status and placing the club 24th in IMG's official club grading table.

A breakdown of the club's score can be found below:

Fandom: 1.9 out of a possible 5
Performance: 0.88 out of a possible 6
Finance: 1.25 out of a possible 5
Stadium: 0.59 out of a possible 3
Community: 0.5 out of a possible 1

This year has seen notable increases to our Fandom score, with engagements across our social media platforms growing significantly. This is also reflected by our digital follower growth, which has seen a 17.9% increase from 2024-26.

Our Performance score has also grown, with the figure for IMG's Finance and Stadium pillars remaining the same. 

While our Community score has dropped, the points for this section reduced in 2026 with the removal of the catchment score, affecting teams across the board.

Overall comments from chairman Andy Mazey

Despite the fact grading was made optional this year,  largely aimed at those with ambitions of Super League, as a club, we made the decision to continue to grade to demonstrate we are across the core areas of the business, and to ensure we are recording, monitoring and continually measuring our own club's performance.
 
Disappointingly, the removal of the catchment area within the Community pillar which we have previously scored highly on means we have lost points and our overall score has not improved in the way it would have had the goal posts not been moved. 

However, I’m pleased to report improved scores in both Fandom and Performance pillars. Additionally, our scores in Finance and Stadium pillars have been maintained.
 
The main takeaway for our supporters is that we are reporting growth in two critical and controllable areas, Fandom and Performance. Particularly pleasing from a digital perspective, not only have our follower numbers across all platforms grown significantly, but we have increased our engagements by an impressive 75%, with over 2.5 million engagements across this year. 
 
In summary, there are some very positive results which gives confidence to us as a board and rewards and adds value for our commercial partners and sponsors.
 
Looking ahead, on the back of a successful 2026, we have been working hard to strengthen our men’s squad and will soon be launching some exciting season ticket and membership packages for 2027. 

It would therefore be remiss of me not to reiterate the message that not just for IMG purposes but for Rochdale Hornets to continue to grow and prosper, we need more people supporting -  more supporters buying season tickets, supporting events and initiatives, and engaging digitally with us while encouraging friends, family, colleagues and associates to do the same. 
 
Onward, Hornets!