1. Welcome to NRLCEO
2. Starting a competition or league
3. Squad limits and position restrictions
4. How to score
5. Scoring summary
6. Drafting and recruitment
7. Player movement during the season
8. Selecting your team each week

1. WELCOME TO NRLCEO

The information below is quite detailed but reading it will result in a much better understanding of what is actually a very simple and enjoyable fantasy rugby league.

To help coaches through the initial NRLCEO process, the order of proceedings from start to end that each NRLCEO coach will undergo is as follows:

1.  Register via TheBench front page
2.  Login to the site (your email is your login)
3.  Create a Club, Competition or League
4.  Enter team into Competition
5.  View players and create a pre-draft list of players you wish to recruit
6.  Commence draft once competition is full
7.  Select your team each week
8. Enjoy the addiction of NRLCEO!

2. STARTING A COMPETITION OR A LEAGUE

To make your life easier, we have published an article which outlines the difference between creating a Club, Competition or League.

Creating a Club – FREE for default competitions and $12 per club to enter a custom league

If you have a friend or colleague that has already done the hard work and created a competition for you, then this step is super easy.  You need to register an account by entering an email address, nickname and password.

Once you have logged in you will be presented with a number of options.

If you know the Competition Token then click Add a Club and then enter the Competition Token as required.  Then follow the prompts as required.

Creating a Competition – FREE!

If you have been appointed as the person to setup your competition, then the quickest and easiest way to get started is by creating a Competition.

Creating a competition uses the default settings entered by the NRLCEO Admin.  There are two options:

1. NRLCEO Classic – our traditional version comprised of selecting 17 players each week
2. NRLCEO Lite – this is a quicker version of the game where you only need to select 9 players each week with a squad size of 13 in total

Once you have decided which version you would like to create, then click on the blue “Select” tab and then fill out the prompts on the next page.  For a more detailed run down, check out our blog.

Once you have submitted your settings you can start to invite others to your competition.  Using the email form at the top left of screen add your friends emails or email them the Competition Token directly.

Creating a League – $12 per club

A “League” is the most customisable option on TheBench.    You can modify one of the existing competition templates including:

• How many positions on a field
• Scoring rules
• Formulas which calculate the scoring rules
• Your draft order

Think of a League like the English Football Leagues.  You can have a number of divisions and teams can get promoted and relegated, but they all play under the same rules.

On TheBench, a League also allows you to have a multi-tier competition which includes a number of linked competitions that could also include an annual promotion and relegation.  You can have as many competitions within a League as you like, or you can just have one.

3. SQUAD LIMITS & POSITION RESTRICTIONS

GOAL KICKERS

TEAM KICKERS

From 2019, you can now opt to draft “Team Kickers”. This means that you can draft the Raiders goals and every goal that is kicked is counted towards your score, even if you don’t have Jarrod Croker, Aidan Sezer or Sam Williams in your team.

Read this blog to understand how it works in more detail and how to implement it in your league.

4. HOW TO SCORE

There are numerous ways that an NRLCEO team can accumulate points.  Public and private competitions can be fully customised to suit the the competitions requirements.

Public Legends of League and Supporters League Competition rules are set in place by NRLCEO Administration.

The various ways in which a player can score in NRLCEO is described 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: Josh Addo-Carr scores three tries for the Storm in Round 1. An NRLCEO franchise has recruited Addo-Carr and named him in their Round 1 team on the wing. 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.

GOALS

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: Nathan Cleary scores two tries and kicks 6 goals in Round 1 for the Panthers. An NRLCEO team has named Cleary 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.

Team Kickers

There is also the option available to recruit a whole team as your kicker. So for example if you recruit the Panthers goals, it doesn’t matter whether Nathan Cleary or Stephen Crichton kicks the goal, you get the points regardless.

WORKHORSES

A Workhorse is achieved if a player makes a combination of 40 or more tackles and runs. If a player achieves these stats, the player is awarded a Workhorse (the default value is five points).

Example: An NRLCEO Franchise names Angus Crichton. He scores one try in Round 1 but also makes 35 tackles and 8 runs. The NRLCEO franchise that has named Crichton in their team gets accredited with eight (9) points (4 for the Try and 5 for the Workhorse).

Most competition only score workhorses for forwards, but custom leagues can allow any position to score a workhorse if you choose to.

DOUBLE WORKHORSE

The Double Workhorse (DWH) rewards player who have a blinder of a game.  In order to achieve a DWH, a player must make a combination of 60 tackles and runs or more AND must run more than 150m. In order for a hooker to achieve a DWH, he must make a combination of 60 tackles and runs AND run more than 75m.

NOTE:  If a player is classed at a hooker/back rower/lock, the position in which they qualify for a DWH will be determined by the position in which they start in that game. 

SIDENOTE: If a player only has a single position on TheBench but plays in a different position in the game then they will need to meet the requirements of their position that they started in. E.g. If Cameron McInnes has a hooker only status on the site, but plays lock, then he will need to meet DWH requirements for lock position.

TRIPLE WORKHORSE

The Triple Workhorse (TWH) is the Holy Grail! It is an INSANE performance by a player to achieve this and extremely rare. In order to achieve a TWH, a front rower, back rower or lock must make 70 tackles and runs combined or more as well as 200m or more. In order for a hooker to achieve a TWH, he must make a combination of 70 tackles and runs or more as well as 125m or more.

NOTE:  If a player is classed at a hooker/back rower/lock, the position in which they qualify for a DWH will be determined by the position in which they start in that game. 

SIDENOTE: If a player only has a single position on TheBench but plays in a different position in the game then they will need to meet the requirements of their position that they started in. E.g. If Cameron McInnes has a hooker only status on the site, but plays lock, then he will need to meet TWH requirements for lock position.

METRE EATERS

The Metre Eater was created to help boost the value of the hard working runners in the NRL.

We know that different positions have varied opportunities to make more runs so we have used different requirements for each position. Importantly, the metres they require is based on the position they in the NRL game, not the position you select them in your NRLCEO team.

Single Metre Eaters:

Fullbacks: 150+ metres run
Wingers: 150+ metres run
Centres: 100+ metres run
Five-Eighths: 100+ metres run
Halfbacks: 100+ metres run
Front Rowers: 150+ metres run
Hookers: 75+ metres run
Back Rowers: 125+ metres run
Locks: 150+ metres run

Players named to start from the Bench: 125+ metres run

Double Metre Eaters:

Hookers: 125+ metres run
All other positions: 200+ metres run

Triple Metre Eaters:

All positions: 300+ metres run

We have recommended that competitions set it as worth two points per metre eater, but as with all scoring options on TheBench it is customisable by you and your competition.

LINE BREAKS, TRY ASSISTS & LINE BREAK ASSISTS

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

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 Match-ups Page in the Field Goals column.

INFRINGEMENTS

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 -4 points.  Players are not penalised in NRLCEO for dropped balls, missed tackles, penalties or suspensions.

BENCH PLAYERS

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.

CAPTAINS

Captains traditionally score double points in NRLCEO, but you can customise it to suit your needs.

In order to be able to select a captain (which most competitions allow to score double points) you must be in a customisable league and select “Enable Bonus Position 2” on the Edit League screen.

You then need to go to the Edit League screen again to edit each position where a captain might be able to play (for most this will be editing the positions 1-13). You then need to define which extra points Captains will be able to score.

For those of you who want a captain to score double points you should copy + paste this formula into the Advanced Tab and then the Captain Scoring Expression.

E.g. 4*$tries + 2*$tryAssists + 4*$workHorse + $lineBreaks – 2*$sinBins – 4*$sentOffs + $fieldGoals + $fortyTwenty

5. SCORING SUMMARY

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 in a paid league.

6. DRAFTING & RECRUITMENT

7. PLAYER MOVEMENT DURING THE SEASON

TRADING

Example: Another coach in your competition wants to trade Greg Inglis for a star player who has a season ending injury. This is an example of an unfair trade and will most likely be rejected.

8. SELECTING YOUR TEAM EACH WEEK

Each week, coaches are required to name a team from their squad. Coaches can do this via the ‘Coaches Box’ menu item. With a squad of players to choose from, a coach must select their best players, 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.  This is done by selecting the “K” icon at the top right of each of the player caricatures.

Team selection each round is locked at kick off of the first game of the week, unless otherwise stated.  A rolling lockout will be available for paid custom Leagues. This means that if a player hasn’t played his game, he can be replaced with another who also hasn’t played right up until kickoff of the first game that affects the two players in consideration.

In general, team selection will lock at 7:30pm every Thursday or Friday – which means the NRLCEO coach must have their team selected by this deadline. Daylight savings time also affects lockout times when Queensland 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 select the same team as previously selected the week before.

WINNING AND LOSING

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.

The final result is not official until midday on Monday AEST. 

SLEDGING

The Banter Page is a valuable aspect of NRLCEO.  Sledging of fellow coaches and their teams is strongly encouraged in NRLCEO and promotes inter team rivalry.  You can send a message to an entire competition quickly and easily.

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 unnecessary swearing or personal insults in public competitions.

CONTACTING US