When you sign up to NRL SuperCoach, the first decision you need to make is which mode you want to play. There are two distinct versions of the game - Classic and Draft - and they are different enough that it is worth understanding both before you dive in.
Classic
Classic is the standard version of SuperCoach and what most people are referring to when they talk about the game. Every coach starts with the same budget and builds their team by selecting players from the full pool of NRL players. You are not competing against other coaches for the same players - if you want Harry Grant and so does everyone else, you can both have him. Your score each week is determined purely by how your players perform, and you are ranked against every other coach in the competition based on your cumulative total.
Classic is the mode this guide is primarily written for, and it is the best place to start if you are new to SuperCoach.
Draft
Draft mode is a very different experience to Classic and is better compared to Fantasy Football or Fantasy Basketball than it is to Classic SuperCoach. You and a group of friends or competitors take turns selecting players in a draft, meaning once someone picks a player, no one else in your league can have them. The only thing Draft and Classic really share is the scoring system - beyond that, they are essentially two separate games.
Draft involves a lot of strategy in its own right, but we will save that for another time. If someone invites you into a draft league in your first season, jump in and enjoy it - but get your feet wet in Classic first.
A note from SC Mattrix
I use Draft as an outlet for all the players I want in Classic but could never justify the price tag. The random 500k player you grab in the seventh round, or picking up Talakai off waivers for a two week run while Ramien is injured - you would never burn a trade on that in Classic but in Draft it is just good footy management. It gives you a whole other team to cheer for on game day and honestly, sometimes that second team hits harder than the main one.
Some of my favourite SuperCoach memories are live drafts. Whiteboard up, everyone on the beers, smack talk at its absolute peak. There is nothing quite like it. And here is a little tip - a lot of Classic players in a draft room are mentally focused on their Classic team, which means real value falls through the cracks for the coaches who are genuinely locked in on Draft strategy.
To be honest, Draft might actually be the better format. But Classic is by far the most accessible and the most popular. I have toyed with Draft content before on the podcast and it just is not popular enough yet to be worth diving into properly. So Classic it is - for now.