Footy tipping competitions for your mates, your family and the office
Everyone picks the winners. The app keeps the ladder. Somebody in the group chat is wrong every week, in public, from March to September.
Every footy season starts the same way. Someone in the office, the family chat or the old team’s group asks “are we doing tipping this year?”, three people say yes, and everyone looks at whoever asked. This page is for that person: when the 2027 seasons start, how a footy tipping competition actually runs, and how to get everyone in before the first game.
When the 2027 footy seasons start
NRL 2027
The season opens in Las Vegas with two games on Sunday 28 February, Australian time. The other clubs start the following weekend. It is the first season with 18 clubs: the Perth Bears join, coached by Mal Meninga. Magic Round grows to nine games across three days, and one State of Origin game is played at Eden Park in Auckland.
The full draw is expected in mid-November. We add NRL 2027 to the app once it is out, so your competition has every game and kickoff time loaded.
AFL 2027
Round 1 is a full nine-game round again: all 18 clubs, from Wednesday 17 March to Sunday 21 March, opening with Sydney against Geelong at the SCG. Gather Round is round 4 in South Australia, the home-and-away season runs to the end of August, and the Grand Final is at the MCG on Saturday 2 October.
AFL 2027 goes into the app once the full fixture is published, with every game and kickoff time loaded.
How a footy tipping competition works
Each round, everyone in the competition picks the winner of every game. Picks lock five minutes before each game starts, for everyone at the same moment, so nobody tips after the team lists, the weather or the first five minutes. A correct pick scores 2 points. The ladder updates itself as results come in, and the argument starts about two minutes after that.
The organiser’s jobs come down to four: pick the league, name the competition (“The Cousins”, “Level 4”, “Thursday Netball Mums”), get people in, and nudge the one who forgets. TippingMates takes the rest: the fixture is loaded, reminders go out before picks lock, scores are tallied and the ladder is always current. Nobody has to keep a spreadsheet or chase screenshots on a Monday.
Getting people in takes one message. Invite them by email, or share a code or QR into the group chat; anyone who joins with the code comes to you to approve, so the competition stays your people. If you have never run one, how to run a work footy tipping competition covers the rules worth settling before round 1.
Who runs one
The office. Something for the floor to talk about that isn’t work, and a reason for the new starter to talk to the old hands. The question someone always asks gets a straight answer in “Is this actually gambling?”
The family. Cousins in three cities, one ladder. The aunty tipping on jersey colours beats the uncle who watches every game about one week in four, and everyone hears about it.
The mates who scattered. The uni crew, the old team, the one who moved overseas. Nobody rings for no reason; a round of tips is the reason, every weekend from March to September.
The club. The whole squad in before training is over, and the clubroom has an argument ready for the bus to the away game.
Questions people ask before round 1
When do the 2027 seasons start?
The NRL starts first: two games in Las Vegas on Sunday 28 February, Australian time, with the other clubs starting the following weekend. AFL round 1 runs from Wednesday 17 to Sunday 21 March, all 18 clubs, opening with Sydney against Geelong at the SCG.
Can we run one competition for both AFL and NRL?
Each competition follows one league, so a group that tips both runs two, with the same people in each. Most groups pick their code; the households that argue about both run both.
Is a footy tipping competition gambling?
Not on TippingMates. There are no odds, no betting and no ads in the app. Everyone picks a winner, a correct pick scores points on your group’s ladder, and that is the whole game.
What if someone joins after round 1?
They can. A competition can start from any round, earlier rounds can be imported if your group was keeping score somewhere else, and a late joiner tips from the round they arrive.
Last season, and what to tip on now
The 2026 seasons are done: every AFL and NRL round of 2026 is in the AFL results and NRL results, finals included. Until round 1, there is summer to fill. The same group can run a WBBL tipping competition now, a BBL (Big Bash) tipping competition from 12 December, or follow the A-League Men and the NBL through to autumn. Every league you can start today is on the tournaments page.