Free Aussie Rules fantasy with real cash prizes every round

Why coaches are switching to GDS Aussie Rules

Most fantasy Aussie Rules games hand you a prize table full of merch and a leaderboard that resets every March. We do it differently. GameDay Squad Aussie Rules is free to play, pays real cash every single round, and the player cards you collect are yours to keep. The squad you build this season is the one you start with next season, just stronger.

• Real money, every round. Cash prizes every round across the 2026 season, from the Opening Round through 24 home-and-away rounds, five finals rounds and a $5,000 winner-takes-all Grand Final.

• Free to play, free to win. Every coach gets 144 Bronze cards in starter packs, and the Contender competition pays cash to the top three without you spending a cent.

• Your cards, forever. Pack a Diamond Andrew Brayshaw once and he's in your reserves for as long as you play. Supply is never topped up.

• Ten competitions from one collection. Starter, Contender, Classic, Challenger, Champion, three Weekly Specials new this season, and two finals competitions.

Cards you can collect

Every card is yours to keep. The higher the rarity, the bigger the score multiplier. A few of the cards coaches are chasing right now:

Max Gawn - Gold

Lachie Whitfield - Gold

Jordan Dawson - Gold

Josh Daicos - Platinum

How GDS Aussie Rules works

1. Open your packs. Download the app, sign up free, and you'll get 16 starter packs of Bronze player cards straight away. That's enough to field Starter, Contender and Classic squads on day one.

2. Set your 23. Nineteen on the field (6 DEF, 6 MID, 1 RUK, 6 FWD) and four on the bench, one per position. Bench players score exactly the same as field players.

3. Beat the rolling lockout. Players only lock when their own game starts, one minute before the scheduled bounce. Thursday night players lock Thursday; you can keep tinkering with your Sunday players until Sunday.

4. Win cash and cards. Round prizes land every Tuesday, seasonal prizes at the end. Cash goes to your wallet, packs go to your collection, and better cards unlock harder competitions.

The 2026 prize pool

We're putting cash on the line for Aussie Rules every single round this season, topped up with finals and seasonal prizes. Here's what the top spot pays each round.

Prizes run deep, not just to the winner. Classic pays cash to the top three and packs to the top 500 every round, and the Finals Classic and Finals Champion comps pay cash down to third every week. The full round-by-round breakdown is in our Aussie Rules prize table.

Pick your competition

Every coach starts in Starter and climbs from there. Your squad's combined salary decides which competitions you can enter, and salary is set by card rarity, never by how well a player is going. A Bronze card costs $500k all season, even if he's leading the league for disposals.

New this season: three Weekly Specials

• Primetime (no cap, no Bronze): only Thursday and Friday night games. Bring everything you own, build from one slate, and chase the biggest weekly cash prize outside Champion before the weekend starts.

• Under 22s ($16.5m cap): only players born in 2004 or later, and the on-field ruck slot becomes an any-position spot. Know who's getting games before the rest of the platform does.

• Fantasy Bros Sunday Showdown ($15m cap, max 1 Diamond): only Sunday and Monday games. Win a round in the first 20 to book a playoff spot, then survive a 24-coach knockout bracket for a $5,000 Grand Final.

All three are free to enter all season. The Sunday Showdown is run with The Fantasy Bros, with live shows leading into lockout every Sunday.

How scoring works

Your round score comes from what your players actually do on the ground, then multiplied by the rarity of the card you own. Kicks and tackles are worth double a handball. Goals are worth eight. Behinds are worth nothing.

New for 2026: your lowest scorer is dropped automatically. Your round score is the sum of your best 22 from the 23 you name, so one late out or early concussion can't wreck your week. No emergencies to nominate, nothing to do. Full detail on our scoring page.

The card multiplier

This is the bit no other platform has. The same player on a better card scores more.

Two knockout cups, one Classic squad

Set your Classic squad every week and you're automatically in the running for both cups. No extra entry, no extra work.

• The 2026 Classic Cup: the top 512 Classic coaches after Round 1 go into a head-to-head survivor format from Round 2. Fixtures are redrawn every week. Lose and you're out. Every week you survive earns a bigger pack, and the last coach standing picks in the 2026 Prize Card Draft.

• The 2026 GDS Cup: the top 80 Classic coaches after Round 14 go into 16 seeded groups of five for Rounds 15 to 19, then the top two from each group play a straight knockout to the Grand Final in Round 24. Live group draw on stream.

Built for Australian coaches

Every lockout is shown in your local time, Primetime is built around Thursday and Friday night footy, and Sundays are community day with live Fantasy Bros shows before the first bounce. Our community lives on Discord, where coaches trade cards, argue about projections and post their squads before lockout. In-app you'll also see player status (available, in doubt, suspended, injured), a projection for every player every round, and real-time selected-by percentages across all five standard competitions.

Ready to build your squad?

It takes about two minutes. Download GameDay Squad, open your starter packs and set your first 23 before the next lockout. Your cards are waiting, and so is this round's prize money.

Frequently asked questions