27-0 Tips: The Best XIII to Pick and How the Scoring Really Works

Straight from the engine — updated June 2026

Everyone is chasing the same impossible record in the 27-0 game: win every round of an NRL season without dropping a game. Most tips floating around social media are guesswork. These aren't — we built the simulation, so here is exactly how it judges your XIII and what it takes to go perfect. In short: lock a world-class spine first, carry no passenger below 80, spend rerolls on thin draws — and even a flawless XIII only converts a perfect season about two times in three.

How the simulation actually scores your XIII

Every player's rating is weighted by position before the season is simulated. The spine matters most: the halves and hooker carry the heaviest weight (1.3×), then the outside backs (1.15×), then the forward pack (1.0×). Your weighted squad score is pushed through a cubic curve — 27 × score³ — to project wins, which is why an average XIII projects mid-ladder while a 90+ squad suddenly projects a premiership. Small rating gains near the top are worth far more than they look.

Tip 1 — Build the spine before anything else

Halfback, five-eighth and hooker are the three most heavily weighted slots in the game, exactly as they are in real footy — premierships are steered by the 6, 7 and 9. A creaky spine quietly drags every projection, and no amount of strike out wide repairs it. When the wheel offers an all-time half — a Johns, a Thurston, a Cleary — take him before you take anyone else.

Tip 2 — No passengers, anywhere

The engine tracks your weakest player, and a perfect season requires your lowest-rated pick to be 80 or better. Anyone below that shows up as the squad's "weak link" and ends the 27-0 run before it starts. A balanced XIII of 86-rated players beats a team of superstars carrying one 77-rated bench-grade prop. Draft like a coach building for September, not a fan collecting names.

Tip 3 — Spend rerolls on thin draws, not bad luck

Easy mode gives three rerolls, Normal one, Hard none (with ratings hidden). A reroll replaces the entire club-and-era draw, so save it for genuinely thin squads at your open positions — not for a club that merely lacks your favourite legend. If only one position is still open and the drawn squad has no 80+ option there, that is the moment.

Tip 4 — Read the pre-season odds before you simulate

Once your XIII is complete, the bookies' panel shows your projected finish, expected competition points and the honest probability of a perfect 27-0. That projection is what your squad should produce — then the season plays out round by round, and anything can happen on the day. Beating your projected finish is its own badge.

What a perfect 27-0 actually requires

The exact thresholds, straight from the engine: a weighted squad rating of roughly 92 or better, a spine averaging 91 or better, and a weakest player rated 80 or better. Clear all three gates and the perfect season still only converts about 65% of the time — perfection is meant to feel mythical. Fall just short and the realistic target becomes an unbeaten-but-drawn season, the rugby league equivalent of winning everything except the legend.

A verified XIII that clears every gate

This XIII rates 92.3 with the engine's weights — spine gate cleared with three 94-rated immortals-in-waiting, no passenger below 90. It is the strongest side the player pool allows, and it still goes 27-0 only about two runs in three:

Of course, the slot machine has to offer them first — every run draws different clubs and eras, which is the whole point. Use the profile as a target: a 94-grade spine, outside backs in the low 90s, and nothing below the high 80s anywhere.

Quick answers

Has any NRL team gone 27-0 in real life? No — no club has ever finished a season undefeated in over a century of premiership rugby league. Is 27-0 possible in the game? Yes, but only with an elite, gap-free XIII and some luck on top. Best first pick? Whichever all-time half or hooker the wheel offers — the spine slots cap everything else. More in the full FAQ.

Ready to test it? Build your XIII and chase 27-0 →