Free fantasy rugby league with real cash prizes every round

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Why coaches are switching to GDS Rugby League

Most fantasy rugby league games hand you a prize table full of merch and a leaderboard that resets after the grand final. We do it differently. GameDay Squad Rugby League 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 across 27 regular-season rounds, 4 finals rounds, a QLD vs NSW series and a $5,000 Sunday Showdown grand final in 2026.

• Free to play, free to win. Every coach gets 153 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 Gold Nathan Cleary once and he's in your reserves for as long as you play.

• Eight competitions from one collection. Starter, Contender, Classic, Challenger, Champion, plus three Weekly Specials new this season.

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:

Nathan Cleary - Gold

Kalyn Ponga - Gold

Payne Haas - Gold

Blayke Brailey - Platinum

How GDS Rugby League works

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

2. Set your 18. Thirteen on the field (1 HOK, 3 MID, 2 EDG, 2 HLF, 2 CTR, 2 WNG, 1 FLB) and five on the bench (2 forwards, 1 half, 2 backs). Bench players score exactly the same as field players.

3. Beat the lockout. Rugby League runs a rolling lockout. Each player locks one minute before his team's game kicks off, so you can keep tinkering with your Sunday players after the Thursday game has started.

4. Win cash and cards. Round prizes land every week, 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 in every round of Rugby League this season, from Round 1 of the Weekly Specials right through to the finals, and topping it up with a Prize Card Draft at the end. 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 QLD vs NSW competition pays $1,000 to each round winner. The full round-by-round breakdown is in our Rugby League 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 try-scoring.

New this season: three Weekly Specials

• Primetime (no cap): only Thursday and Friday night games. Bring everything you own except Bronze, build from one slate, and chase a $750 prize before the weekend starts.

• Under 24s ($12.5m cap): only players born in or after 2002. Know who's getting minutes before the rest of the platform does.

• Fantasy Bros Sunday Showdown ($12m cap): only Sunday and Monday games. Win a round in the first 22 and you're into a 24-coach playoff bracket for a $5,000 grand final.

All three are free to enter all season. Run in partnership with the Fantasy Bros, the Sunday Showdown is the biggest single prize in GDS Rugby League.

How scoring works

Your round score comes from what your players actually do on the paddock, then multiplied by the rarity of the card you own. Tries are worth more than anywhere else, tackles add up fast for your forwards, and errors and missed tackles cost you.

New for 2026: your lowest scorer each round is dropped automatically, so only your best 17 of 18 count. That's your emergency cover without having to name one. Full table 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: 512 coaches, head-to-head survivor format from Round 2. Lose and you're out. Every week you survive earns a bigger pack, and the last coach standing picks in the Prize Card Draft.

• The 2026 GDS Cup: the top 80 Classic coaches after Round 17 go into 16 seeded groups of five, then a straight 32-coach knockout to the final in Round 27. 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 the Sunday Showdown comes with live Fantasy Bros shows leading into lockout. Our community lives on Discord where coaches trade cards, argue about projections and post their squads before kick-off. In-app you'll also see player status (active or inactive), a projection for every player every round from The Stats Lab, 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 18 before the next lockout. Your cards are waiting, and so is this round's prize money.

Frequently asked questions