Social Introducing NZW Ultimate Team

[tajhay]

Hi guys, i know everyone is pretty much involved in SC or NRLFantasy, but...there may be a fantasy game you may be interested in that i want to pilot this year during the NRL season. You will need to be involved, you will be the manager of the team and own the franchise. I will provide more info later on but this is a call to action if you want to be involved.

some things i can say
1) there will be bidding on players via an auction.
2) the players will be all warriors players from 95-current. There may be potential to add other legendary players (i have connections to legends via Hodges Agency)
3) you will be responsible for picking team for each round, including strategies
4) games will be simulated and a match report of the game output based on how the teams stack up , form, injuries, strategies used, weather etc.

say yay if interested. itll run alongside the NRL season including the finals.

 

[Makasene]

Interested

 

[france]

i'll give it a try

 

[Wahs_Ultras]

interested mate

 

[roguei]

Keen as

 

[tajhay]

Warriors Ultimate Team — Build Your Dream Franchise. Manage. Compete. Dominate.​

Ever dreamed of running your own Warriors franchise?

Welcome to Warriors Ultimate Team — a fully-featured NRL management
simulation built right here on the forum. Build a squad from the greatest Warriors
players of all time, set your game plans, manage your salary cap, and compete
against other forum members across a full 26-round season — complete with finals,
awards, and bragging rights.

Whether you're a numbers nerd, a tactics junkie, or just here for the banter —
there's something for you.

---

How It Works​

Create Your Franchise

Pick your team name, design your jersey (choose from 5 styles — solid, hoops, vee,
halves, or chevron), select your colours, upload a logo, and name your home
ground. Write a short pitch about why your franchise deserves a spot, and once
approved, you're in.

Build Your Squad at Auction

Every season kicks off with a multi-round blind auction. Bid on legendary Warriors
from across every era — from the foundation years through to the modern day. You
won't see what others are bidding, so strategy is everything. Got your eye on a
gun halfback? Better hope your bid is the highest when the round closes.

You've got a $11.95M salary cap and room for 20 players. You can't
stack your roster with all elites — so you'll need to decide: do you splurge on a
couple of superstars and fill the gaps with depth, or build a balanced squad from
top to bottom?

Set Your Game Plan

Each round, pick your starting 13 and 4 interchange. Choose your captain, goal
kicker, and field goal specialist. Then dial in your tactics:

• Attack style — Structured, Balanced, Expansive, or High Tempo
  
• Defence intensity — Conservative through to Line Speed
  
• Kicking strategy — Short game, balanced, or tactical long kicks
  
• Interchange plan — Early rotation, standard, late rotation, or injury
  reserve
  
• Second-half adjustments — Change things up if you're chasing or
  protecting a lead
  

Don't submit a game plan? No worries — one gets auto-generated. But the best
results come from those who put the thought in.

Watch the Game Unfold

Every match is a full 80-minute simulation with play-by-play commentary.
Tries, conversions, penalties, field goals, line breaks, errors, sin bins,
injuries, HIA assessments — it's all in there. If scores are locked at fulltime,
you're going to golden point.

Catch the game within 25 minutes of simulation and you can watch it LIVE —
commentary streams in real-time with a pulsing "LIVE NOW" badge. Show up late and
it fast-forwards to catch you up. Prefer to watch at your own pace? Hit play and
control the speed (1x, 2x, 5x, or blitz through at 10x).

Home teams get a genuine advantage (just like in the NRL), conversion difficulty
changes depending on where the try was scored, and there's even a video referee
that can overturn tries in dramatic fashion.

Scores are hidden until you watch the replay — no spoilers.

---

What You'll Be Managing Week to Week​

This isn't just "set and forget." Each round brings decisions:

Training
Pick a focus (attack, defence, fitness, skills, set plays, goal kicking,
combinations, or recovery) and intensity level. Higher intensity = bigger gains
but more injury risk.

Trades
Propose player swaps with other franchises. Include cash to sweeten the deal.
Multi-player trades are supported. The trade window closes at Round 20, so don't
leave your moves too late.

Judiciary
If one of your players gets charged for an on-field incident, you've got 48 hours
to respond. Accept an early guilty plea for a reduced ban, or fight the charge at
the judiciary — 50/50 chance of getting off, but if you lose, the ban gets worse.

Press Conferences
Talk up your next opponent, react to a big win, or call out a rival franchise.
Pick your tone: confident, humble, controversial, motivational, or analytical. The
best press conference of the season wins an award.

Player Events
Random events pop up throughout the season. A star player might hit a breakout
streak, get selected for representative duties, pick up a training injury, or land
in hot water off the field. You'll need to adapt.

---

Compete for Glory​

Season Structure

• 2 pre-season trial rounds
  
• 26 regular season rounds
  
• Top 8 finals in the traditional NRL format (Qualifying → Elimination → Semis →
  Prelim → Grand Final)
  

Leaderboards track everything:

• Top try scorers
  
• Top point scorers
  
• Top tacklers
  
• Top run metres
  
• Top goal kickers
  
• Dally M Medal leaders (3-2-1 voting every game)
  
• Team of the Week
  
• Team of the Season
  

12 End-of-Season Awards

Player of the Season, Best & Fairest, Top Try Scorer, Golden Boot, Best Forward,
Best Back, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Wooden Spoon, Franchise of the
Year, Best Press Conference, and Iron Man Award.

Your trophies live in your franchise trophy cabinet for all to see.

---

The Players​

Every player card is rated 1–99 overall across 14 attributes: Speed,
Agility, Power, Tackling, Passing, General Kicking, Goal Kicking, Field Goals,
Endurance, Game Sense, Consistency, Discipline, Aerial Ability, and Leadership.

Ratings are position-weighted — a prop's overall is heavily driven by
power, tackling, and endurance, while a halfback's leans on passing, kicking, and
game sense. Every player gets a visual radar chart so you can see their strengths
at a glance.

Player tiers:

• Legend — The all-time greats. Purple tier. You want these.
  
• Elite — Gold tier. The stars that win you games.
  
• Mid — Silver tier. Solid contributors who keep your squad competitive.
  
• Lower — Bronze tier. Depth and development players.
  

Use the Player Comparison tool to stack up to 3 players side-by-side with
overlaid radar charts before you bid or trade.

---

Stay Connected​

You'll get alerts for everything that matters:

• Game results
  
• Auction wins
  
• Trade offers and responses
  
• Judiciary charges
  
• Player injuries and events
  
• Franchise approval
  

There's also an activity feed on the dashboard showing the latest trades,
press conferences, and player events across the competition — so you always know
what's going on around the league.

---

How to Get Involved​

Interested in running a franchise? Here's what to do:

1. Head to the Ultimate Team section on the forum
   
2. Click "Create Franchise" (you'll need to be logged in)
   
3. Fill out your application — pick your team name, design your jersey,
   write your pitch
   
4. Wait for approval — we'll review applications and get you in
   
5. Start bidding — once the season's auction opens, it's go time
   

If you've got questions before jumping in, drop them in this thread and we'll sort
you out.

---

Quick Stats​

Feature	Details
Salary Cap	$11,950,000
Max Roster	20 players
Season Length	26 rounds + finals
Match Simulation	Full 80 minutes with commentary
Player Ratings	14 attributes, 1-99 scale
Awards	12 end-of-season categories
Jersey Styles	5 custom designs
Auction Format	Blind bid, multi-round
Trade Window	Rounds 1–20
Finals	Top 8, NRL format

---

This is YOUR league. Build something special.


​

 

[tajhay]

I have simulated a full season so you can have a look at how it works. https://nzwarriors.com/ultimate-team/

For example if you want to see a full game simulation - go here and press play https://nzwarriors.com/ultimate-team-season/game?game_id=455 (this is the grand final of the simulated season).

Note: Yes players are not playing in their correct position, and player ratings still need to be balanced.

There are some things you will not see unless your team is accepted and are an actual participant.

The idea for the innaugral season is to have 12 or potentially more teams but no more than 16. Each user wanting to participate has to apply for a franchise via the button on the main page: https://nzwarriors.com/ultimate-team/

For innaugral season i am looking for:
1) Users who are actively committed to playing out the season.
2) Teams to be globally based i.e. PNG, Dubai, London, Fiji etc. 1 franchise per country, maybe 2 at most.
3) I will be a participant in the comp for the first season so i can go through some of the issues and rebalance the engine as the season progresses and add things.
4) most of your forum viewing is done on desktop. It is probably ready for mobile, but itll take time to fully get there to be fully mobile compatible.
5) have a good understanding of rugby league. if something doesnt make sense, you can report it.
6) there will be many changes through the season so some games may need to be resimulated etc. You need to have patience. Its part of getting it right. And yes the current player ratings are still to be rebalanced before anyone asks.

In return, if you are an active participant in the inaugural season you will be automatically invited next season. Spots for this comp is limited, and no guarantee the comp can be expanded to fit more users next season due to the number of active/former warriors players.

Any questions feel free to ask, else have a look around, and apply for a franchise today

This will be the most interactive, full game management sim you will experience.

 

[Inruin]

So there will be no duplicate players? Ie two teams can't have Stacey Jones for example

 

[tajhay]

So there will be no duplicate players? Ie two teams can't have Stacey Jones for example

correct. only 1. Most teams would also have some development players.

You an always trade a player. There will be injuries, suspensions etc...and then theres trades...


Say... you have Stacey Jones on 2m. Stacey Jones is suspended/injured for 2 rounds.
Team x has James Maloney on 1m.

You could offer Stacey as trade for Maloney to get some cap space, and offer monetary compensation or ask for compensation in monetary form (would come out of your cap or give you more cap flexibility). The other team would get Stacey but wouldnt be able to play him for 2 games as suspension/injury would still exist.

You can also release players (but releasing them means you carry 50% of their salary cap).

And you can always play players out of position, but say Stacey Jones will be best(100%) at halfback, 90% at 5/8, 10% at prop etc. Tactics etc all come into play.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

Sounds like a very cool concept. When do we need to confirm by?

 

[tajhay]

Sounds like a very cool concept. When do we need to confirm by?

Prop within a week. I will start accepting franchises as they come in.

Timeline would be as follows:
today: Franchise applications start
weeks time: Franchises accepted and confirmed.
two weeks time: Auctions start (10 rounds - 1 round per day). You can set and forget, but need to enter it for each of the rounds i.e. 1 for each round/day.

4 weeks time: preseason starts. - 2 rounds of preseason games for everyone to practice with their team lineups, sign any free agents, trades, and play around with their tactics.

6 weeks - Competition starts.

 

[tajhay]

This is a game running live if you are interested in watching it unfold (GF Resim)

https://nzwarriors.com/ultimate-team-season/game?game_id=455

 

[Barzak]

Sounds like it’s time to show the actual NRL coaches among us and weed out the armchair has beens.. (Where I sit tbc)

 

[tajhay]

3 franchises have been approved covering NZ, USA, Japan. I will delete all the simulated data once all franchises are locked in.

 

[Muddogz]

Keen @tajhay

 

[tajhay]

Any questions feel free to ask, else have a look around, and apply for a franchise today

To join, need to apply for franchise via the link

@Makasene @france @Wahs_Ultras @roguei @Muddogz

 

[tajhay]

3 franchises have been approved covering NZ, USA, Japan. I will delete all the simulated data once all franchises are locked in.

Update - 5 franchises approved. Franchises based in NZ, USA(2 - Las Vegas & Hawaii), Japan and Fiji have all been given the green light.

https://nzwarriors.com/ultimate-team-franchises/create

 

[Inruin]

Hawaii team confirmed to join NZ Ultimate Team in $50m deal funded by local Government.

Lara Pitt
Thursday 12 February 2026

Governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, has revealed the details of the heavily-anticipated NZW Ultimate Team expansion franchise based in Hawaii for the 2026 season.
Green said the deal will cost Hawaii taxpayers $50m over seven years in “direct financial support” and another $5.6m in matchday and marketing assistance.

“We’ve worked hard to secure this deal, and we took a strong negotiating position,” he said in a video posted to social media.

“Every dollar of direct financial support provided by the Hawaiian government will be spent in Hawaii,” he said. “The NZW Ultimate Team will not charge the club a licence fee.”

Green said the Hawaii team would deliver a “return for taxpayers”.

“Not only will this be great news for sports fans, it’s great news for our economy and great news for jobs,” he said.
Green said the new club will compete in the NZW Ultimate Team “for the first time in 2026 with a renegotiation clause in the club’s favour for the following years”.

The NZW Ultimate Team’s existing broadcast deal expires at the end of the 2027 season.


CEO, Richard Fale said the team would be known as the Hammerheads and it would be truly “interisland” with “the DNA of all of Hawaii” evident in the franchise from back office through to on field style.

He promised more information would be released in coming days.

“What I can tell you is that we worked very closely with the Hawaiian Government. They’re putting forward a lot of money, and Josh Green, I applaud his passion for helping in making it happen. We also have a very supportive benefactor in Robin Masters, we have some great sponsors already on board with Island Hopper Tours, Spectrum - who will provide free wifi at the stadium for our fans, and the amazing Hawaiian Airlines.” he said. “Add in the positive tax rates and additional salary cap support we have received, I think you are going to see all players across the game keen to join the Hammerheads, and a very strong team assembled.”

“On top of that, the gameday experience will be second to none. From our local homegrown Hawaiian cheerleaders, fan exclusives at the ground and on field performance – it’s all designed with making the Hammerheads experience unforgettable”


Star halfback Te Maire Martin – who is turning out for the māori Allstars this weekend, and is a free agent linked with the Hammerheads said travel would be “tough” for players, but the Hawaii team will become a drawcard – “Other teams have to make the trip as well and we are probably better placed for travel to some of the other confirmed franchises we will be playing.”

“There’s also an appeal that it’s a foundation club and getting to play for an elite coach like Inruin, you don’t get many opportunities to do that, so I don’t think it’d be too big of an issue to attract players. I know a number of star players have been excited about the opportunity” he said.

The Hammerheads are already making a big splash with locals. Season passes were made available just 7 days ago and already the interest from fans is phenomenal, with 24,000 tickets purchased already.

It’s fair to say that other franchises are looking on with interest and trepidation, with the Hawaii Hammerheads eager to hear their catch phrase shouted loudly from all the fans at the game.

YOU HAVE BEEN HAMMERED!!!!

 

[Canonball]

This sounds amazing @tajhay - really impressive. I would dearly like to say I would commit to it but I know how that will work out: 3 or 4 weeks of intense obsessiveness and then slowly, guiltily backing away from any gameplay - so, yeah, good luck to all real playas!

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

Hey @tajhay I’d normally be all over this, & definitely will join in at a later date, however I fear I don’t have time the next couple of weeks to get involved - pointy end of SuperCoach pre-season & work is crazy next fortnight. So I’m a reluctant non-participant for now.