Picking your starting squad

Round-one structure, how many rookies to carry, and what actually makes a rookie playable.

Your round-one squad sets the terms for the next couple of months. It decides how much cash you can generate, how many forced trades you'll take, and how quickly you can get to a finished team. It's the one decision you get unlimited time to make — so it's worth making properly.

{# TODO(tim): verify — I have deliberately not stated the salary cap figure, the total squad size, or the number of trades available. None are defined in this codebase. The starting-lineup shape referenced below (1 hooker, 3 middles, 2 edges, 2 halves, 2 centres, 3 wing/fullback, plus interchange) is taken from the squad optimiser's constraints in fantasy_app/models.py, FantasySquad.optimise_nrl_fantasy_squad() (~line 5233) — please confirm it matches the current official structure. #}

The structural question: how many rookies?

Every starting squad is a trade-off between points now and cash later. More premiums means a higher score from round one and fewer forced trades. More cheap players means more cash generation, and a faster route to a strong squad — if the cheap players actually play.

Both approaches win seasons. What loses seasons is the version where you pick cheap players who don't get named, because then you get neither the points nor the cash, and you spend trades fixing it.

The rule that matters most

Only start a cheap player you genuinely believe will be named in round one. A rookie who isn't picked generates nothing, occupies a slot, and eventually costs you a trade. That's strictly worse than starting with one fewer cash cow.

What makes a good round-one rookie

In priority order:

  1. Job security. Are they locked into a starting side, or competing for a spot? A limited player who will definitely play beats a talented one who might.
  2. Minutes. Since fantasy scoring accumulates with time on field, a starting forward playing extended stints is worth far more than a bench player on short rotations.
  3. Role. Base-stat-heavy roles — tackling, running — produce steady scores regardless of how the team goes. That reliability is what drives a smooth price rise.
  4. Price. Cheaper is better, all else equal, because the gap between their expected score and their priced-at score is what generates cash. See cash cows for the mechanics.

Note that talent is not on that list until well down it. You are not picking rookies to score; you're picking them to be cheap, to play, and to rise.

Don't neglect the premium end

It's easy to spend all your pre-season energy on rookies and then fill the top of your squad on autopilot. That's backwards — premiums are where most of your points come from, and where the most money is committed.

The useful frame here is position tiers. Within a tier, players are close enough that the cheapest is usually correct; between tiers, the gap is real and worth paying for. And because positions have different depth, a standout at a thin position is worth more than an equivalent score at a deep one.

Position Tiers Optimiser — build a squad against a budget Player Finder

Structure details worth getting right

  • Dual-position players are worth a premium. Eligibility in two positions gives you lineup flexibility all season — covering injuries, and especially covering byes — that a single-position player of equal projection simply can't.
  • Your bench is not filler. Interchange players are your first line of defence against late withdrawals. A bench of players who will never be named turns every injury into a forced trade.
  • Spread your club exposure. Loading up on one club concentrates your bye damage and your representative-round damage into the same weeks.
  • Glance at the early draw. A favourable opening run helps cash cows start their price runs faster, which compounds. It's a tiebreaker, not a primary criterion.

Common round-one mistakes

  • Picking on last season's finish. Roles change over an off-season. A player's history describes the role they had, not the one they're about to get.
  • Locking the squad in early. Pre-season information keeps arriving right up to the first team lists. There's no advantage to finalising in January.
  • Too many players from one club. It looks fine in March and hurts badly in the representative and bye rounds.
  • Chasing pre-season hype. Trial performances are a poor guide to regular-season minutes, which is the thing that actually matters.

Expect to be wrong, and plan for it

No starting squad survives contact with round one intact. Some rookies won't be named, some premiums will get injured, and a couple of your picks will simply be wrong. That's normal and it's survivable — provided you haven't already committed every trade to fixing predictable problems.

The squads that hold up are the ones with fewest self-inflicted wounds: no unnamed rookies, no dead bench, no over-concentration in one club. Get those right and the ordinary bad luck is manageable. See trade strategy for how to spend what you have left.

Frequently asked questions

Enough to fund the upgrades you want, but only rookies you genuinely believe will play. A rookie who doesn't get named makes no money and costs you a trade, which is far worse than starting with one fewer.

Cheap price, a clear path to consistent minutes, and a role that accumulates base stats. Job security matters more than talent — a limited player locked into 60 minutes beats an exciting one who might be dropped.

Both approaches work. Starting with more premiums gives you points immediately and fewer forced trades; starting cheaper gives you more cash generation but relies on your rookies actually playing.
Cash cows Finding them, holding them, and — the hard part — knowing exactly when to cash out.
Position tiers Why the 3rd-best hooker and the 3rd-best middle are worth wildly different amounts.
Bye rounds The rounds that decide seasons. How to see the damage coming and trade around it.

All NRL Fantasy guides