What is an NRL fantasy draft league?

A league where each member drafts their own squad of real NRL players, and every player can sit in only one squad. Instead of buying players against a salary cap, members take turns to pick, so the best players are shared around the group rather than owned by everyone at once.

How is a draft league different from a salary cap game?

In a salary cap game every player has a price, everyone has the same budget and everyone can pick the same star. In a draft, a player belongs to one member once picked. That makes a draft league more social and more about the group than about the whole competition.

What is the difference between a snake and an auction draft?

A snake draft reverses the pick order each round. An auction gives each member a budget to bid with, and members take turns to put a player up for bidding. Fanzava's draft room runs a snake draft.

Can I run an NRL fantasy league for my pub, workplace or club?

Yes, that is what it is built for. It will run on your hub under your brand, with your members signing in the way they do for everything else on the hub, once fantasy opens.

Can I run a keeper league on Fanzava?

Not yet. Keeper and dynasty rules are not part of Fanzava fantasy today, so a league starts each season with a new draft.

Are scores and live matchups switched on?

No. Nothing in fantasy is open yet. Scoring for NRL players is not switched on and there are no head-to-head matchups, which is part of why fantasy is a waitlist and not an open signup.

Does Fanzava take entry money?

No. Fanzava does not collect or hold entry fees. A fantasy league here is a social game between your members, not a betting product.

When does NRL fantasy open on Fanzava?

There is no date to give yet. Join the waitlist and we will get in touch about fantasy on your hub.

NRL fantasy draft league

Run your own NRL fantasy league, with a proper draft.

A private NRL fantasy league where you and your mates will draft real NRL players in a live snake draft room, then run your squads through the season. It runs on your Fanzava hub, alongside your NRL tipping. Fantasy is opening soon: join the waitlist and be first in.

Join the waitlist

No commitment. We get in touch when fantasy opens on your hub.

An NRL draft league, at a glance.

Clubs: 18 from 2027, with the Perth Bears joining as the competition's 18th team.
Season opener: Saturday 27 February 2027 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. A league that wants a live draft night settles it before then.
Draft format: Snake, in a live draft room with a chat running beside the board. Fanzava does not run auction drafts.
Squad: Sized by the league. The draft runs one round for every place in the squad.
Captain: One for each squad, named from the players a member drafted.
Through the season: Trades between members, and free agents nobody drafted, once fantasy opens.
Status: On the waitlist. Fantasy is not open for self-serve signup yet, and there is no opening date to quote.

From setup to the first pick.

A hub admin sets it up.

Create a fantasy competition in the same wizard you use for tipping and pick the NRL as the league it runs on. Your logo, colours and domain carry through.
Members join and name a team.

Each member will join the competition and create their team, with the login they already use on your hub.
Start the draft.

Once at least two teams are in, a hub admin will start the draft and the room will open for every member at once.
Draft night.

Members will pick in turn while a chat runs beside the board, and every pick will land on every screen the moment it is made.
The draft has a length.

It will run one round for every place in the squad, so the squad size you set decides how long the night is.
Then manage the squad.

Members will name a captain, propose trades, accept or counter the offers they get, and pick up free agents. The league rules will sit on a page every member can read and only a hub admin can change.

Rules worth settling before draft night.

The league rules live on one page inside the competition, but the arguments start well before that. Agree these first and draft night takes care of itself.

How big is a squad?

A bigger squad means a longer draft night and more players to keep an eye on all season. For a pub or office league, a squad you can draft in one evening is the safer choice, and the squad size sets the number of rounds.

Who is in the room, and when?

A draft only moves when the person on the clock does. With clubs now spread from Perth to Auckland, pick a night that works across time zones, and agree in advance what happens when someone cannot make it.

Do you know your positions?

NRL squads run from props and hookers through halves and centres to wingers and fullbacks, and a squad heavy on one line is lopsided. Look at where your picks play before you spend your early picks.

What happens at Origin?

State of Origin takes a club's representative players out of their lineup around each of the three games. Agree before the draft how your league will handle it, because it lands on every squad at the same time.

Is anyone playing for something?

Anything your league plays for is between you and your members. Fanzava does not take entry money or hold a pool for you, and a fantasy league here is a social game.

Snake, auction or keeper: how your league drafts.

Snake draft

The pick order reverses every round, so whoever picks last in one round picks first in the next. It is the easy one to explain at a pub table, and nobody is stuck at the back of every round.

Auction draft

Every manager works to a budget and members take turns to put a player up for the room to bid on. A star halfback is not locked to whoever drew pick one, and it rewards the member who knows what a player is worth. Fanzava's draft room runs a snake draft, so a league set on an auction is not a fit yet.

Keeper leagues

A keeper league lets each manager hold over a few players from one season to the next, sometimes at the cost of a draft pick. Fanzava does not run keeper or dynasty rules yet, so each season's league starts with a new draft.

Why host an NRL fantasy league on Fanzava.

It is your league.

A Fanzava league runs on your hub, under your logo, colours and domain, with your members on the login they already use. It is for the club, pub, workplace or community that wants fantasy inside the audience it already has.

It sits next to your tipping.

Your members already tip on the hub. A draft league runs beside it under the same brand, so one hub carries the weekly tipping habit and the season-long draft together.

It is built for a group.

A draft is a room of people watching each other's picks. Fanzava's draft room will have the board, the player pool and a chat, and every pick will reach every screen as it is made, which is what makes draft night worth turning up for.

Questions about an NRL fantasy league.

What is an NRL fantasy draft league?: A league where each member drafts their own squad of real NRL players, and every player can sit in only one squad. Instead of buying players against a salary cap, members take turns to pick, so the best players are shared around the group rather than owned by everyone at once.
How is a draft league different from a salary cap game?: In a salary cap game every player has a price, everyone has the same budget and everyone can pick the same star. In a draft, a player belongs to one member once picked. That makes a draft league more social and more about the group than about the whole competition.
What is the difference between a snake and an auction draft?: A snake draft reverses the pick order each round. An auction gives each member a budget to bid with, and members take turns to put a player up for bidding. Fanzava's draft room runs a snake draft.
Can I run an NRL fantasy league for my pub, workplace or club?: Yes, that is what it is built for. It will run on your hub under your brand, with your members signing in the way they do for everything else on the hub, once fantasy opens.
Can I run an auction draft on Fanzava?: No. Fanzava's draft room runs a snake draft, so a league set on an auction is not a fit yet.
Can I run a keeper league on Fanzava?: Not yet. Keeper and dynasty rules are not part of Fanzava fantasy today, so a league starts each season with a new draft.
Are scores and live matchups switched on?: No. Nothing in fantasy is open yet. Scoring for NRL players is not switched on and there are no head-to-head matchups, which is part of why fantasy is a waitlist and not an open signup.
Does Fanzava take entry money?: No. Fanzava does not collect or hold entry fees. A fantasy league here is a social game between your members, not a betting product.
When does NRL fantasy open on Fanzava?: There is no date to give yet. Join the waitlist and we will get in touch about fantasy on your hub.

Be first in when NRL fantasy opens on your hub.

We'll be in touch about fantasy on your hub.

Run NRL tipping today →