Another season of the National Rugby League is in full swing right now! Be it the familiar consistency shown in the Penrith Panthers’ NRL campaign or the dogged defiance of the Canterbury Bulldogs despite a poor run of form, this season of the league has been just as exciting as the last with its ability to throw up both expected and surprising results.
As with previous editions of the league, the Fantasy Draft is extremely popular among the fans. And why wouldn’t it? The draft gives you free entry with exciting cash prizes for monthly winners! The grand prize winners have it even better, though: the first prize gets you three days of paid accommodation to watch the Magic Round plus 2000 AUD in cash. Other prizes even include 4K TVs and massive vouchers from KFC!
No wonder then that lovers of sports across the continent hone their game knowledge religiously to make sure they’ve selected only those draft picks that can have the highest impact. But don’t you worry, with the help of a few tips you can easily challenge the best draft veterans with a star-stacked team of your own!
#1 Perfect The Basics
Each valid fantasy squad consists of 21 players, made up of two centres, two halves, three fullbacks, one hooker, two edge forwards, three middle forwards and eight reserves. Now, the 9.8 million salary cap may be daunting with regards to the calculations required, but as a general rule of thumb try filling in at least 4-5 positions straight off the bat with big-name players. These positions have to be among the most effective, so go with centres and forwards for these slots.
#2 Get on with the numbers
Statistics have a huge role to play when filling up the rest of the squad, and a little homework is absolutely essential. Prefer players who might have had a few quiet games but have been consistent for the last three-four campaigns or so. That means selecting less of the flashy, one/two-season wonders no matter how impressive their campaigns might have been.
Concerning statistics, the official fantasy league page gives you access to their coach system for 14 days, free of cost. Utilize this to the max: run every possible player stat across the system to find where they’re ranked in the league, find what their average ranking is and use that to judge their effective value to your team.
#3 Mix it up
As you’re given a maximum of five teams to create, mix it up a little. Maybe you want to keep your core team the same across the squads but go crazy on the rest. Frankly, you will be able to identify a bunch of promising players for every position. Trim this list down until there are only two three players for each possible position. Then try making different squad combinations with them till you find the ones that you’re most confident of.
#4 Do Not Go Overboard
As with any other sport that requires keen research and game knowledge, it is very easy to overthink your draft picks after every game week. While it’s awesome that you want to continuously hone your team, it is also important to realize that one or two bad games don’t automatically rule out an otherwise brilliant player.
This is the time to focus on the trading system – a double-edged sword. The trading system lets you trade two times every week – this is an opportunity to trade, not a necessity. There’s no set way to determine whether a player will suffer a prolonged spell of poor form – most of it is intuition, and some of it is pure luck. Just remember to stay steady and not make a dramatic number of trades every game week. This will help you preserve your best possible team, and hopefully, it’ll do well down the line. Best of luck!
#5 Get Your Kids in on the Action
Rugby has been a proud sporting heritage for families for a long while. It’s great to get your kids in on the action early on as well! And what better way to do this than with awesome rugby season merchandise!
If you love the Penrith Panthers, then their teddy bear is a perfect gift for your little one – it’s soft to the touch and super huggable! Or maybe you want their official inflatable hammer! It’s ideal for representing your favourite team in the stadium or for playing in your backyard!
Oh, more of a Bulldogs fan? No worries, we’ve got you covered there, too, with our NRL Canterbury Bulldogs Showbag! This showbag contains every item a fan could possibly need – including cooler bags, keychains, lanyards and even a nice branded backpack. It serves as a perfect gift to both kids and adult fans of the league – they’re sure to love it!
You can find all of these awesome rugby products and so many more amazing showbags right here.