Competitions that are created can either be private or public.  Public competitions are open to anyone and competitions that are not full can be seen on the 'Leagues Page'.  A user will need to register in order to access this page.  Private competitions allow the creator to invite friends into the competition.  Email addresses of invited friends are needed.  If email addresses are not known, it is just as easy to set up a public competition with a password.  that way, only users who know the password are able to join the competition. 

To start drafting players, there must be enough coaches willing field a team in order to fill the competition. Drafting can not begin until a competition is full.  Competitions can be set up for between 2 and 16 teams. The number of teams in a competition is an important aspect for the creator of the competition to consider as this will influence a number of factors. Generally, a lower number of teams in the competition results in more quality players to choose from for each coach and less teams also means the draft will go quicker.  A 10 - 16 team competition will generally require a long draft time and is not ideal for a public competition.

Having 16 franchises in a competition will mean that throughout the season many teams will struggle to even fill a full side of starting NRL players. The NRLCEO team recommends that 6 to 10 teams is the optimal size for a competition. This will generally lead to a closer competition and more enjoyment from interaction with other teams in trade deals as well as having more free agents in the open market to choose from when injury or suspension strikes.

When creating a competition, the creator can customise a number of features. These include:

An NRLCEO competition includes a draw with all teams playing each other over the number of specified rounds. Depending on the start of the NRLCEO competition (normally round 1 of the NRL) a full season will go for about 23 rounds with the number of weeks of finals determined by the finals system that is selected.  NRLCEO does not operate during the finals series of the NRL and finishes at the completion of the regular NRL season - round 26. Depending on the size of the NRLCEO competition and the number of teams in it, the finals series length will vary but will almost always conclude with the Grand Final being played in correspondence with the final regular season NRL round. This can all be fully customised by the person who creates the competition - the creator.

When the competition is created, restrictions to the types of players that can be recruited can be customised in the rules. These restrictions revolve around a player's NRLCEO playing position and how many of each are allowed in each team's squad.

The default settings for a NRLCEO fantasy rugby league squad is made up of 25 players with the following positional limits within that squad:

Squad limits determine the number of players who can play each position in the squad. It is important to note that some NRLCEO players can play several positions.

e.g. Player X is listed as a hooker and a halfback. If he was selected in a squad he would take up one hooker position and one halfback position.

A player who plays across many positions can provide your squad with versatility during injuries and byes, but too many can also become restricting. This can also affect trades and recruitment. It is your job, as the NRLCEO to take positional limits into consideration when initially drafting the team.

Goal kickers are highly valuable NRLCEO squad members and have been given kicking ratings (up to a maximum of 10).  These ratings have been based on numerous factors and include:  goal kicking ability, likelihood to kick points each week and team scoring potential. A NRLCEO team is allowed to have unlimited goal kickers in its squad with the default setting being 10 kicking points allocated to each team. The competition creator can customise this allocation of kicking points at his/her discretion at the time of competition set up. In general, the default setting of 10 kicking points has been allocated so that a team will theoretically only be able to draft one full time goal kicker, along with a number of other 'backup' kickers.

It is also important to note that all available players with kicking points can be selected in the team in any given match but only the selected kicker's goals will be counted towards that franchise's final weekly points tally. A coach can choose any player to be their kicker as long as that player has been named in the NRLCEO team's starting 13 for that round.  Bench players can not be named as the kicker.

There are numerous ways that an NRLCEO team can accumulate points.  Public and private competitions can be fully customised to suit the the creator's requirements.  Legends of League Competition rules are set in place by NRLCEO Administration.

Ways in which a player can score in NRLCEO is found below. 

TRIES & FIELD GOALS

Points are allocated to each NRLCEO team based on NRL players' performances in NRL games for each round and the points they score. If a player scores for their NRL team, the NRLCEO franchise also gets benefited with those points - as long as the scoring players have been named in the team for that round.

Example: Michael Jennings scores three tries for the Panthers in round 1. An NRLCEO franchise has recruited Jennings and named him in their round 1 team in the centres. That team will be accredited with 12 points (3 tries @ 4 points each)

All players can score points for their NRLCEO team through scoring tries and field goals in the actual NRL game.

Kickers play an important role in gaining points for their NRLCEO team. A kicker must be specifically named as the NRLCEO team's kicker for the week and will score points for any successful goals that they accrue during that round's NRL game. Kickers are also awarded any other points that they score throughout the game via tries etc.

Example: Jonathan Thurston scores two tries and kicks 6 goals in round 1 for the Cowboys. An NRLCEO team has named Thurston in their team and nominated him as their kicker. That team gets credited with 20 points (8 points for the two tries and 6 conversions worth 2 points each). If any other player in that NRLCEO team kicks goals during this round, they will not be credited to the NRLCEO team as they were not named as that team's kicker.

Workhorse Tries can only be awarded to players who are named in the forwards for the NRLCEO team.  A Workhorse Try is achieved if that forward makes a combination of 40 or more tackles and runs. If a player achieves these statss, the player is awarded a Workhorse Try (default value is 4 points).  Each forward can only get one Workhorse Try per round.

Example: An NRLCEO Franchise names Robbie Farah. He scores one try in round 1 for the Tigers but also makes 35 tackles and 8 runs. The NRLCEO franchise that has named Farah in their team as a Hooker gets accredited with 8 points (4 for the Try and 4 for the Workhorse Try).

DOUBLE WORKHORSE TRIES
New in 2012, the DWT rewards forwards who have a blinder of a game.  In order to achieve a DWT, a forward must make a combination of 60 tackles and runs AND must run more than 120m.

In order for a hooker to achieve a DWT, he must make a combination of 50 tackles and runs AND run more than 75m.

Line Break, Try Assist and Line Break Assist points are awarded to any player who performs these in their NRL game. Any players in any position is capable of scoring by these methods. Points for Line Breaks, Try Assists & Line Break Assists are not default settings and therefore need to be added by the competition creator. The creator will also need to give values that they deem appropriate for each scoring method but must take into account the other scoring systems in place so it works out to be a proportional scoring system.

40/20 KICKS
New in 2012, points are awarded for a player who successfully kicks a 40/20.  40/20's are the same value as a field goal (default is 1) and are shown on the Team Matchups Page in the Field Goals column.

Players can be deducted points if they infringe on the field. This occurs when players are sin binned or sent off during their NRL game. The default settings for a sin binning is -2 points and a send off is -6 points.  Players are not penalised in NRLCEO for dropped balls, missed tackles, penalties or suspensions.

In NRLCEO, bench players score the same points as the starting line-up however the competition creator can customise this to change the bench players' scoring ability. The competition creator can choose to half bench player's scoring if they so wish.  The same applies for the captain, where the default setting is to be the same as the rest of the team with the creator having the ability to enable an option for the captain to score double points. It is important to note that goals are not included in the Captain's double points tally.

Example 1: An NRLCEO team has named Jamie Soward as their Kicker and Captain. He scores one try and three conversions. That NRLCEO team is awarded 8 points for his try (double due to captaincy) plus 6 points for his three goals giving that team 14 points altogether. 

Example 2: Dave Taylor is named on the bench of an NRLCEO team. He scores a Workhorse Try but that 4 points is halved to 2 points due to him being named on the NRLCEO team's benchand the creator making bench points half.

It is also important to note that when required, bench player's scores are rounded using the Banker's Rounding System.  This sees decimal values rounded to the nearest even number.

Example 3:  An NRLCEO team has Jarryd Hayne on the Bench (where the rules are stated as bench scores are halved).  He scores a try and a linebreak giving him 5 points in total.  As he is named on the bench his 5 points are halved to 2.5 points and using Banker's Rounding, his total contribution to the team score is 2 points.

Below is a complete summary of how a player's points tally can be accrued in an NRLCEO round. These are the default values and can be fully customised by the creator.

  

NRLCEO offers a number of recruitment options.  These include three Live Drafts:  The Live Random Draft, The Live Staggered Draft, The Live Snake Draft and The Quick Draw Recruitment Method.

The time for the draft is set by the competition creator doing initial creation.  It is important to note that the competition drafting page will open 1 minute after the nominated time.  The Draft will then start 1 minute later.  This is to ensure that all coaches are ready to draft.  If a draft time is set and the competition is not filled at that point in time, the draft will start immediately after the competition fills up.  Coaches must be vigilent in keeping an eye on their competition progress, especially in public competitions.

LIVE DRAFTING

Each live draft is a pick for pick system that is designed to allow all teams in the competition the opportunity to get a solid and competitive squad. When the page indicates that it is a team's turn to pick, the coach is free to choose whatever player they like, as long as it adheres to the rules of the competition. (See Squad Limits & Position Restrictions).


Each live draft works in much the same way but the characteristics are quite different.  Each of these Live Drafts has a time limit that a coach can take to select a player.  If that time limit is exceeded, then a random player is selected.  If a Pre-Draft List is made by a coach, the player at the top of the list will be selected.


3.  LIVE SNAKE DRAFT
During the Snake Draft, the first round is randomised.  The order of pick then continues as follows:

Round 1:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Round 2:  6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Round 3:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
etc.

This method of drafting is ideal for private competitions with 6-10 teams. 

THE QUICK DRAW RECRUITMENT

This Quick Draw is a straight recruitment method with the emphasis on speed!  Once recruitment has started, coaches are able to pick up any players that are on the open market.  However, it is strategic in that only one player can be recruited each round.  Each round goes lasts two minutes.  This means that for a competition that consists of 25 players squad limits, an entire draft will be completed in under an hour.  This is a fast, pressurised and strategic straight recruitment method.  Once the recruitment time is completed, players are then able to be picked up until squads are full - this is only required if a coach missed the opportunity to pick up a player in the draft with the time limit being exceeded.

The Quick Draw is a perfect drafting method for public competitions and 10-16 team private competitions.

THE PRE-DRAFT LIST

Prior to Drafting, a Pre-Draft List can be compiled by a coach.  This involves placing players into an ordered list prior to drafting.  This allows a coach to quickly recruit a player without filtering through the entire player list durin the drafting process.  Players can be placed in this pre-draft list and arranged and rearranged according to the coach's preference.  The auto-pick box can also be ticked so that the player at the top of the pre-draft list will be automatically selected when it is that team's turn to recruit int he draft.

The auto-pick box can be a valuable icon for coaches who are likely to miss part of the draft through work or other commitments. It is important to note that once the draft starts, a coach is still able to change their pre-list or the order of the players within that list. This means that if a coach is away from the draft for an extended period of time, they must make sure that their prelist is well co-ordinated with high priority players at the top of their pre-list.  They must also make sure that the auto-pick box is ticked to ensure that they do not hold up the progress of the draft.  Once a player is selected by a team, they change colour and become unavailable for selection.

A Pre-Draft List screenshot can be accessed below:

Drafting Pre List.bmp (3,000.05KB)

If a player is randomly selected, the selection is completely random and does not take into account, squad position requirements.

NOTE:  The Pre-Draft List is NOT available when the chosen method of recruitment is the Quick Draw.

During the season, it is possible to terminate and recruit players. This can be done at any time during the week (including the weekend). New players will be added to the site immediately after the game in which they initially play in, or on the Tuesday that they are initially named in the NRL team.

A coach can cut and recruit players by simply hitting the 'Terminate' link in the team page. When a squad has vacancies, a coach may recruit players via the 'My Team - Add Player' link.

An NRLCEO fantasy rugby league squad only has a limited number of cuts throughout the season - default number is 19 for the entire season but can be customised by the competition creator. This means that a coach can only terminate this many players during the season. Players are normally cut due to injury or poor form (lack of NRLCEO point scoring); however, a coach may just want to cut a player to accommodate another because of position restrictions.

The anti-tampering deadline (default setting is set at the commencement of round 19 but can be customised by the competition creator) was introduced to NRLCEO to stop a coach from cutting and trading players at the business end of the season. This is to negate late season trades between teams that may impact negatively on a competition (eg stacking a finals bound team by a lower ranked team.)

Example: It is round 21 and a team is out of finals contention. They attempt to trade all of their quality players to a finals bound team in return for injured or out of form players. This is not seen as fair NRLCEO play and the Anti-Tampering Deadline will stop this unfair trade from occurring.

It is important to note that the Anti-tampering Deadline only stops a coach from cutting and trading.  If a coach has room in his/her squad, player recruitments can still be made up until the end of the season. Tactics play a huge part at this stage of the game.

Coaches may wish to attempt to trade a player or players with another coach in the competition. There are a number of important factors to take into account when considering this option. First of all, each coach must be able to accommodate the proposed trade in accordance to the player positioning restrictions for that competition. Once the trade is offered, the other coach must consider, accept or reject the trade. Trading is an important aspect of NRLCEO and is not always accepted, especially if the other coach feels that you (the trader) are not offering a fair trade.

Example: Another coach in your competition wants to trade Nathan Hindmarsh for a fringe player who has a season ending injury. This is an example of an unfair trade and will most likely be rejected.  Trade offers come via email but can also be view by hitting the 'Trades' link.

Trades can be conducted throughout the season but the anti-tampering deadline applies to trading as well. Trades cannot be conducted after this period. A coach can trade as much as possible and as many players at a time as possible - there are no limits - unless the competition creator customises trades to count towards the termination limit. Multiple players can be traded at any one time and is not uncommon as long as both coaches have agreed on mutually beneficial terms (not always easy to achieve AND each team can accommodate the player positional changes within their squad).

To offer a trade, go via 'My Team - Trade' link. Trading is a four part process. You will be asked with which team you would like to trade. Once you have decided with which team you would like to propose a trade to, simply select the player/s you wish to offer and the player/s you want. Once you have offered the trade, it is then up to the other coach to accept or reject it. An email will be sent to your adversary with details of the trade.  The result of the trade will then be shown at the bottom of the sledge page for that competition.  Rejected trades have a reason for rejection accompanying them on the sledge page.

Each week, coaches are required to name a 17 man team from their squad. Coaches can do this via the 'My Team - Selection' button. With a squad of players to choose from, a coach must select their best 17, based on who they think will score the most points during that round. A coach's selections could mean the difference between a win and a loss so selections each week should be calculated and carefully considered each week.

The coach must also choose a kicker for that week as well as the captain. Depending on how your competition is customised, your captain can either be just another player or have the ability to  score double points (goals not included) for the week. Similarly, the bench players could either be like regular players or score half points, once again depending on the customisation of your competition.  See 'THE SCORING SYSTEM' above.

NOTE: Bench positions include two forward reserves (14 & 15) and two back reserves (16 & 17).

Players must be selected in appropriate positions with the bench made up of two backs and two forwards. Where players have multiple positions, coaches have that luxury to position them in the team in any of the nominated positions. An example of this is shown below:

Braith Anasta is listed as a five-eighth and a backrower. That means if selected by the NRLCEO coach, Anasta can be listed in the team as either a five-eighth, a backrower, a bench forward or a bench back. This will affect Anasta's scoring potential depending on the position he is selected in. (See Workhorse Tries)

Team selection each round is locked 90 minutes before the kick off of the first game of the week, unless otherwise stated. In general, team selection will lock at 6pm every Friday - Queensland Time - which means the NRLCEO coach must have their team selected by this deadline. Daylight savings time also affects lockout times when Qld and NSW times differ. After this lock time, no changes to the NRLCEO team will be permitted.  If no team is selected by the coach, NRLCEO will randomly place players in the team from the entire squad for that round.

The winning team at the end of the round is the team with the highest total of points. Just like the NRL, two competition points are awarded for a win, one point for a draw and none for a loss. At the end of the regular season, the top team is crowned Minor Premiers and the finals series begins. The finals series is able to be customised and includes various methods of achieving an eventual grand final match up and premier.

It is important to note that results are updated as often as possible throughout the weekend as games are played. However, the final result is not official until midday on Tuesday AEST - at this point, an email notification is sent to every coach. NRLCEO point scorers for each round will be listed on the NRLCEO Blog Page and point scorer omissions or comments can be queried on the appropriate page.

It is important to note that NRLCEO incorporates a LIVE LADDER.  This means that as scores change during a round, so too does the competition ladder.

The Sledge Page is a valuable aspect of NRLCEO.  Sledging of fellow coaches and their teams is strongly encouraged in NRLCEO and promotes inter team rivalry. Trades can be offered in this page unofficially to other coaches without the rest of the competition knowing.  There are two sledge forums available - a public forum where each coach in the competition can access messages and a private forum where messages can be accessed/sent to/from individual coaches.

It is generally common practice for a coach to write sledges talking up their team's chances of victory for the coming week.  Rubbing your beaten opponents' nose in the dirt in also strongly encouraged.

Sledging in NRLCEO creates a competitive atmosphere and makes the game of NRLCEO much more enjoyable, especially when taking on your close mates in a private competition!

It should be noted that NRLCEO takes no responsibility for other coach's overt or over the top sledging.  While we at NRLCEO encourage sledging (and partake it in ourselves more often than not), we do not condone unecessary swearing or personal insults in public competitions.

We can be contacted directly at the email address:  nrlceo@y7mail.com.  A quick response within 24 hours is encouraged.  Writing on blogs is not a direct way of accessing NRLCEO administration.

Feedback, conversation and questions can also be directed to our Facebook Page.