Social Introducing NZW Ultimate Team

Can you select players in any position once you have your squad? Some of the current positions assigned to players look a bit odd.
The primary position each player has been designated is actually where they have played most of their games at the Warriors. Some players have muted secondary positions where they have also spent considerable games in those positions.

So, say a player who has primary position of Halfback, and secondary of 5/8 and Hooker:

- You can play pick them anywhere in the 17.
- They will play at their best at 6, 7 and 9.
- They may play OK but not optimslly at lock and fullback as the skills are somewhat transferrable.
- They will struggle at say Prop as the skills are NOT transferrable

Does that help.

Another thing to note, players who have played together at the Warriors, or played in same Era(same decade) will get chemistry boosts.
 
The primary position each player has been designated is actually where they have played most of their games at the Warriors. Some players have muted secondary positions where they have also spent considerable games in those positions.

So, say a player who has primary position of Halfback, and secondary of 5/8 and Hooker:

- You can play pick them anywhere in the 17.
- They will play at their best at 6, 7 and 9.
- They may play OK but not optimslly at lock and fullback as the skills are somewhat transferrable.
- They will struggle at say Prop as the skills are NOT transferrable

Does that help.

Another thing to note, players who have played together at the Warriors, or played in same Era(same decade) will get chemistry boosts.
Syd Eru wing? There’s a few others that I’m sure aren’t right either
 
Sorry if this his has been answered, haven’t had time to look at anything in any detail, however will certain positions be weighted as more important to a game outcome - for example does a fullback rated at 80 have more weight than a centre at 80?
 
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Sorry if this his has been answered, haven’t had time to look at anything in any detail, however will certainly positions be weighted as more important to a game outcome - for example does a fullback rated at 80 have more weight than a centre at 80?
That is a good question. Outcome no, match situation yes, let me explain a bit.

An 80 OVR rated Centre and an 80 OVR rated Fullback are both genuinely 80 overall for their respective position, but each got there through different means on how they play via their attributes. For example a fullback leans more on speed, game sense etc and a centre on speed, tackling and they are weighted differently to come up to the OVR figure. But in essense an 80 rated centre vs an 80 rated centre are similar, just possess different skillset as per their attribute which helps them differently in game situations.

In game simulation - a fullbacks speed, agility etc matters more when they carry the ball, game sense etc more on decisions they make. For a Prop, their Power matters more when they carry the ball etc

So its not just the OVR, but the attributes that govern how a player plays in a match situation.

Also note that just like in reality, a fullback carries the ball more(kick returns, line insertions) and centre does more defensive assignments on their edges than a fullback does. The amount of work a position does in a game is modelled on actual NRL gameplay averages.
 
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Plymouth, Taranaki —


The newest franchise today confirmed its commitment to building a team that truly represents the roots of the competition, proudly announcing that it will base its operations in New Zealand.

While several organisations have elected to establish their clubs offshore, management stated the decision was simple.

“This competition was born from New Zealand rugby league culture. We believe a club should reflect the community that supports it,” a spokesperson said. “Our supporters won’t be treated as a marketing demographic — they’re the reason the team exists.”

“There will always be the temptation to chase famous names and nostalgia picks early. We’re focused on building a team, not a poster.”

“Some clubs are building brands.
We’re building something people can belong to.”

Season preparations are underway, with further announcements expected following the opening player auction.

Sincerely,

Taranaki Tortoises Ownership
 
Just so everyone is aware, max squads of 30 players.
But i would recommend not to use up all 30 slots, as you can still enter free agency to pick up players for 100k
Also you may want to have salary cap flexibility for trades.
There will also be guest players entering the comp who are available for 2/4/6 (consecutive weeks) games in a season who will be available via auction.

And there will be injuries, suspensions etc.

There is no minimum, but if you dont have enough available players i.e. 17 for a team list, the system will automatically get the lowest rated available player to fill your squad.

You can always trade players (refer to this example https://nzwarriors.com/threads/introducing-nzw-ultimate-team.1704/page-3#post-244040 you can include multi players, cash - these will all account for in the salary cap), or you can dump players (by paying 50% of their salary to open up spots etc)
 

ULTIMATE TEAM PRESS OFFICE
For Immediate Release — February 26, 2026

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

RECORD-BREAKING BID WAR EXPECTED FOR STACEY JONES AS AUCTION ROUND 1 HEATS UP

The Little General set to command the highest price tag in Ultimate Team auction history

Ultimate Team league officials are bracing for a record-breaking auction as halfback Stacey Jones — the highest-rated
player in the entire game at a staggering 97.6 OVR — headlines the Round 1 player pool.

The Legend-tier playmaker, widely regarded as the greatest Warrior to ever lace a boot, is expected to attract interest from
virtually every franchise in the competition. With eight ownership groups all operating under the same $11.95M salary cap, the
scramble for the Little General could define the entire auction landscape.

"A player like this comes along once in a generation. Whoever lands him builds their franchise around him. Whoever
doesn't has to find a way to beat him every week."
— Anonymous league insider

Jones's combination of 84.9 passing, 73.6 general kicking, and 82.8 game sense makes him the undisputed
centrepiece of the auction. Analysis suggests that halfback is the most volatile position in the draft — the gap between the
best and worst starting halfback across eight teams could be as large as 21 OVR points. Securing an elite halfback isn't
a luxury. It's a necessity.

But Jones isn't the only prize on the table. Round 1 features 36 players including elite names like fullback Lance
Hohaia
(90 OVR), centres Jerome Ropati and Nigel Vagana (both 88), and a stacked forward pack headlined by
prop Jacob Lillyman (87) and hooker Jason Death (86).

With the Round 1 deadline fast approaching, franchise owners who haven't placed their bids yet are gambling with their season.
Every hour of inaction is an hour your rivals are positioning themselves.

Round 1 closes February 28. The clock is ticking.

The only question that matters: can you afford to let someone else build their team first?

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Ultimate Team Auction — where legends are won and salary caps are broken.
 
God damn, Auction Round 1 results are in. Can someone check if North Korean team Pyongyang Dictators will have enough salary cap to field a top 17 come round 1?

Results tab on Auction shows how much each player went for.
Screenshot 2026-02-28 at 4.12.25 pm.webp

Round 2 Open. Also note that Auction rounds finish every 24 hours from here on in.
 
God damn, Auction Round 1 results are in. Can someone check if North Korean team Pyongyang Dictators will have enough salary cap to field a top 17 come round 1?

Results tab on Auction shows how much each player went for.
View attachment 15945

Round 2 Open.
Dear comrades, any individuals that dare question the auction strategies of the supreme leader risk being strapped to the goal posts at Rungrado 1st of May Stadium and introduced to the power of our anti aircraft weaponry.
 
Dear comrades, any individuals that dare question the auction strategies of the supreme leader risk being strapped to the goal posts at Rungrado 1st of May Stadium and introduced to the power of our anti aircraft weaponry.
We all wish Stacey Jones the greatest health, and free from any suspensions, or events that may impact his participation for the duration of the comp, our supreme leader.
 
We all wish Stacey Jones the greatest health, and free from any suspensions, or events that may impact his participation for the duration of the comp, our supreme leader.
Well thankfully I have the never injured Te Maire Martin as cover… however my strategy was fairly simple. A quick look at the halfback stocks showed that there aren’t many quality ones to choose from. Tanah Boyd & Pita Godinet could quite possibly be the options for the 7th & 8th teams… 🤮
 
Theres unconfirmed reports that Jerome Ropati and his franchise Chatham Islands parted ways for a few hours after the Round 1 Auction due to a disagreement about relocation. For a few hours, Ropati was a free agent again but this has since been resolved through an unnamed intermediatory. Jerome has since confirmed that he will move to the Chatham Islands, and will represent the Hawks this coming season. Comment was sought from the franchise owner @Cces who did not answer this masthead's calls.
 
Breaking: Hawaii Hammerheads Cornering the Hooker Market

Sources close to the Hammerheads front office confirm what the numbers already tell us — Hawaii is absolutely loaded with hookers.

Franchise owner Inruin has splashed a combined $1,464,000 on not one but TWO hookers in the first two rounds, securing Wayde Egan
($511k) and Nathan Fien ($953k). For context, that's more than some franchises have spent on their entire roster.

But it gets worse.

Their highest-paid player — Lance Hohaia, signed for a whopping $1,079,000 as a fullback — can also play hooker. That's potentially
THREE hookers on the books, totalling $2,543,000. That's a quarter of the salary cap tied up in the hooker position. On a team that
still doesn't have a halfback.

When reached for comment, rival franchise owners expressed concern about the strategy. "What exactly is going on over there in
Hawaii?" asked one bewildered GM. "Most of us are trying to build a balanced squad. He's out there collecting hookers like they're
Pokemon cards."

The question on everyone's lips — is Inruin building a rugby league franchise, or running some kind of operation out of Waikiki?

"First one's always cheap," noted one scout, pointing to Egan's relatively modest $511k price tag. "Then before you know it, you're
paying nearly a million for the next one. Classic escalation. And now he's paying over a million for blokes who can moonlight as
hookers? The man needs an intervention."

Meanwhile, Las Vegas Knights owner Billyspleen75 — who has exactly zero hookers on his roster — was reportedly seen shaking his head.
"I can't even get ONE hooker and this bloke's got three? In THIS economy?"

League insiders note that with 38 hookers in the player pool and only 8 starting spots across the comp, Hawaii now controls a
disproportionate share of the elite hooker market. Some are calling it strategic depth. Others are calling it a cry for help.

At press time, Inruin was seen browsing the Round 4 player list, where hookers Syd Eru (86) and Aaron Heremaia (83) are available.
League officials have been placed on high alert.

The Hammerheads declined to comment on rumours of a fourth hooker acquisition, stating only: "We believe in depth at the position."
 
Press Statement: Hawaii Hammerheads

While there have been rumours circulating about the club being interested in Syd Eru and that head coach Inruin is a huge fan of his, we have not had any discussions with the player or his manager. There definitely have been no conversations had about Syd joining the Hammerheads organization or a potential house in Waikiki.

Richard Fale CEO - Hawaii Hammerheads
 
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