My take on the new Elite 2020:
I love the matte finish and glad they used it again for this release. I like the white boarders on the commons and the little design around it. Gives it a classy kinda look. Overall they look nice. The downside though is how they used the same background for each team set. When I heard they were using backgrounds again like the old days I was looking forward to seeing some different action shots but I feel this is a let down with each teams background image all the same. I’d also like to see the order of teams changed up a bit. Maybe a throw back to having teams listed in the order they finished the previous year.
The parallels look nice but I feel they are a bit too similar to the commons and could have changed it up a bit more but as a stand alone set they are very nice to look at. Some of the photos used for the commons and parallels again make me scratch me head thinking “was that really the best shot available” but that’s no different from any other year.
The mojos look nice especially in hand (even if it’s a similar design that panini already used lol) I’m not a fan of the Emeralds now being singles instead of team packs nor am I a fan of the same photo being used on it and the ruby ones. I do kinda think that the mojo idea has passed its use by date except for the Rubies being a one per box hit and having 40 of each makes it attainable for people to collect but the rest I feel need to be dropped from future releases. Making the Emeralds singles this year I think is a poor decision. It was hard and expensive enough as it was to get a set of them as a team set but will be even harder and more expensive now. It does open up to people trading more though with them being singles and allows people to get one or two at least were as they may otherwise not been able to get one of the 10 team sets which will be exciting for many especially those that don’t care about trying to collect all their teams cards so the trading aspect of the singles I can see appealing for many and seems to have generated a lot of excitement in people trading to get their teams ones. Just seems a further step of TLA making NRL cards being like US cards with their “rainbow” sets. Don’t really think it’s good for the NRL hobby as most are more team collectors instead of player collectors like how it is in the US. Plus making them such a low numbered card means most collectors miss out. Keep the ruby but drop the rest.
I like how they have kept the woman’s cards and also how they have added more in the sets to. The cards look nice with the club coloured edges with the white background.
The team photos are a strange addition imo. Not really sure why they added these especially given half are via redemption. I don’t get how they didn’t have access to all teams photos either. For example the Raiders had a team photo for posters at the start of the year like most teams do so why couldn’t they use those photos? Given the Dogs one still has CHN & Okenbor in it its not like they were doing updated teams so I’m confused why the redemptions. Kinda seems a pointless subset to me and would have been better to keep captains cards or custodians or continued on from the custodians set and chosen Halfbacks or hookers etc instead or some other one per club card which they then could have used them as a priority hit instead of using the Dally M but more on that in a moment.
The Decade Chartbusters are something a bit different this year they have added and look pretty cool. It’s good to acknowledge stat things like this for players once in a while on cards. I would however have liked a little bit more team colour in the background which would have made them pop a little more but are a nice little set they have done with them (except for Gal not allowing his image poor form from him or his manager with that)
Dally M cards are nice looking cards. A enjoyable little set and would look good as a full set together similar to the Bronze signatures in Traders. They look a lot better then last years but not as nice as the 2018 ones imo as they were my favourite ones but nice looking. The downside of them is the priority version. Not much about them pops in the priority ones & plus the fact not all teams have a Dally M card it’s a let down and poor decision to make them a priority version & brings me back to why captains cards or some other one per club card would have been a better choice for priority.
The Master series signatures I think look great and are a nice addition and if continued in future series I could see being collected by many similar to the Traders Legends set. It opens up the possibility of using lots of ex players in future series & not necessarily just origin & Australian players you could use any international players in the series. Think they will be something they continue to use each series. The 18 non signature ones though I don’t think are a good idea. Reminds me of the crystal collections and even though those and these Master series ones are nice looking cards I don’t think it’s exciting having so many of the same person in a set.
The Young Guns are always a nice set I enjoy. This years has a pretty good list of players to. It would have been awesome if they were signatures like normal but thanks to Covid I can understand no signatures for them but would have been great if they did redemptions for them like they managed with the LS but again I’m impressed they managed to get any signatures at all given all the Covid protocols and lack of player access. Both the white version and the black look nice in hand & I enjoy the look of them. Some of the blacks could have been down with better choices of colour in the background. The Tigers one for eg looks great with the orange on the black background but the Raiders one with the dark blue makes the whole card seem a bit plan. Bit disappointing the white version isn’t numbered but given they are a 1 per box hit I can understand numbering them may have been a bit to much to do that but would have been cool still. For the ones that only have the white version I wish they used a different photo to what they used for them all on the Future Focus series cards but again can understand it because of the photo rights costs for different photos.
The priority versions look great. It’s a pity they are numbered so low as it means not many will be able to get access or afford the set as it would be a very nice looking set all together I reckon. I would have preferred them to be numbered higher and two per box instead but still a great looking card and would love to see if someone does get a full set share some pictures of them all together.
The League Sensations look nice. I’m glad they managed to keep them in this series as I thought they may not have been able to. So well done to TLA for getting them. Hard to fully judge the actual cards yet as haven’t seen a signed one in hand due to Covid meaning they had to be redemptions but looking at the redemption cards and footage of some players signing them they do look a nice design. Hopefully quality control on the pens used is better then previous years and all the sigs are a nice sharp sig. In saying that I’m not a fan of the 3 different versions. Just more of a push towards US rainbow sets which I don’t like but I know many who collect US cards love. I think 2 versions is ok but 3 is over the top but I’ll still be wanting my teams 3 as I’m addicted to wanting them all lol. I’m not sure what happened with the black ones this year though with the gold signature being signed on a white background instead of the black. That’s a weird decision doing that as the gold on black has looked great the last few years and a real highlight in the sets for many. The team design ones are by far the best looking of the 3 versions and look great but again it’s a pity they are numbered so low.
Road to the Finals series sets I’ve never really been a big fan of given lots of sides haven’t had the chance to have them but they are always nice looking cards and will be good to see the redeemed ones pop up soon. The players used obviously for a few of the teams hasn’t worked out to well but given the limitations in what players jerseys they can get its probably unavoidable those things will happen from time to time & again given Covid the access to jerseys would have been tough so I’m glad they managed to put this together given they couldn’t obtain the jerseys needed to complete the Spotlight follow on from last years series.
The Spotlight cards look great again and I’m happy they have kept the same design of them as last years ones. Both the redemptions as a stand alone card are great looking cards and I really enjoy the look of them. It’s almost a shame to put a hole in them actually. They are also a way better idea then Road to the Finals and I’m sure if Covid didn’t happen all 8 teams that didn’t have one last year would have had one in this set so again it’s understandable how only two teams have them this year. I personally prefer a single card for a patch signature redemption but the booklets do look awesome and allow for bigger patch’s and they generate a lot of excitement with collectors so can see why they are a popular release and again will be great to see the redeemed ones as they come up.
Ball patch cards are a pretty cool idea again and will be a highly sort after card. Strange that they used Slater on yet another different card given he has so many already but I’m guessing image rights wise makes sense since he was already in the set. The photo used is a bit plan looking I’d like to see more of a action shot but great to have a ball patch from a Grand Final. Me personally I’d prefer to see ones like this from the previous season or early in the year and for a team that won that actual game but I don’t think that will factor into many if anyone else’s thoughts as it’s a cool card and I already know many that want one.
They have kept the same idea for the case cards this year. The design of them looks nice again. One thing I noticed is all are a portrait photo except Broncos and Raiders being action pics. Not sure if they couldn’t get access to portraits for them or not it’s just something I noticed. Haven’t seen a parallel one of them yet to comment on their look.
They have done the 1/1’s again which anyone who knows me knows I’m not a fan of the idea of any 1/1 cards but as cards they have always looked nice though and yes hitting any would be a huge buzz I’m not denying that I’m just not a fan of the concept. I’m sure these will be nice cards to when they pop up and many will be enjoying the hunt to try and hit one especially the Cam Smith which to this point in time could go down as the biggest NRL card ever made
I like the Golden ticket but I’m not sure how I feel about this one. This year feels like they are just using it to get rid of old stock but better to add it in then not add one in for sure. So it’s still a good thing they have them as they don’t have to add it
Maybe a good idea would be to have a golden ticket that redeems something non card related like how they did the jerseys in 2014 elite or tickets to the Grand Final box or something but that would add to their costs of production.
If this year were a normal year I’d call this release a bit of a Dogs breakfast but given the issues caused by Covid it is kinda amazing that a release even went a head so credit to TLA for putting a set out especially getting any signatures at all for it.
Overall it’s a nice release with plenty in it to keep people interested for a long time to come. I think it’s missing one more low end insert series like a elite impact or speed machines type set though.
The hits ratios in boxes seems to be off again, I’d like them to try and fix the spacing of the bigger hits in boxes. Again this release seems to have super hot boxes with two or 3 of the big hits from a case in the one box. Great if you get one of those boxes but it’s not so great for the people who get the boxes that only have a Ruby or a Ruby & Sapphire. Lots of newsagents stock don’t even have a single numbered hit in them which is sad to hear. So spacing out numbered hits needs to be improved. I’m not sure how the process is done but Id like to see more effort put into making sure the bigger hits are spread around in more boxes so it leaves less of the dud boxes.
I’ve also noticed that most cases seem to follow a trend of having the same numbering of cards. The number ranges of cards in a case seem to be similar but these are minor issues.
Lastly is my take on the whole priority stuff. I have to say I’m pretty disappointed how it’s all planned out that only a couple of dealers had access to stock and even then that access wasn’t shared equally. It would be fairer and better for all collectors and dealers alike if all dealers had the same access to stock. Not sure how much of the stock actually gets sold as boxes either but it doesn’t seem like much of it gets directly in the hands of collectors but instead it’s used for breaks. Personally from a 100% collectors point of view I’d like to see all stock of it in future available to the public to buy as boxes in a pre sale window then any stock not sold can be used however the dealers see fit to but I can totally understand the other side from a dealers few in using them to help move normal stock & give incentives for them to buy more stock etc.
Overall I’d rate this release a 7/10. Lots of things to keep all different sorts of collectors happy & things that are a let down but credit has to be given for getting this release out at all given that 2020 has been such a crazy year.
I love the matte finish and glad they used it again for this release. I like the white boarders on the commons and the little design around it. Gives it a classy kinda look. Overall they look nice. The downside though is how they used the same background for each team set. When I heard they were using backgrounds again like the old days I was looking forward to seeing some different action shots but I feel this is a let down with each teams background image all the same. I’d also like to see the order of teams changed up a bit. Maybe a throw back to having teams listed in the order they finished the previous year.
The parallels look nice but I feel they are a bit too similar to the commons and could have changed it up a bit more but as a stand alone set they are very nice to look at. Some of the photos used for the commons and parallels again make me scratch me head thinking “was that really the best shot available” but that’s no different from any other year.
The mojos look nice especially in hand (even if it’s a similar design that panini already used lol) I’m not a fan of the Emeralds now being singles instead of team packs nor am I a fan of the same photo being used on it and the ruby ones. I do kinda think that the mojo idea has passed its use by date except for the Rubies being a one per box hit and having 40 of each makes it attainable for people to collect but the rest I feel need to be dropped from future releases. Making the Emeralds singles this year I think is a poor decision. It was hard and expensive enough as it was to get a set of them as a team set but will be even harder and more expensive now. It does open up to people trading more though with them being singles and allows people to get one or two at least were as they may otherwise not been able to get one of the 10 team sets which will be exciting for many especially those that don’t care about trying to collect all their teams cards so the trading aspect of the singles I can see appealing for many and seems to have generated a lot of excitement in people trading to get their teams ones. Just seems a further step of TLA making NRL cards being like US cards with their “rainbow” sets. Don’t really think it’s good for the NRL hobby as most are more team collectors instead of player collectors like how it is in the US. Plus making them such a low numbered card means most collectors miss out. Keep the ruby but drop the rest.
I like how they have kept the woman’s cards and also how they have added more in the sets to. The cards look nice with the club coloured edges with the white background.
The team photos are a strange addition imo. Not really sure why they added these especially given half are via redemption. I don’t get how they didn’t have access to all teams photos either. For example the Raiders had a team photo for posters at the start of the year like most teams do so why couldn’t they use those photos? Given the Dogs one still has CHN & Okenbor in it its not like they were doing updated teams so I’m confused why the redemptions. Kinda seems a pointless subset to me and would have been better to keep captains cards or custodians or continued on from the custodians set and chosen Halfbacks or hookers etc instead or some other one per club card which they then could have used them as a priority hit instead of using the Dally M but more on that in a moment.
The Decade Chartbusters are something a bit different this year they have added and look pretty cool. It’s good to acknowledge stat things like this for players once in a while on cards. I would however have liked a little bit more team colour in the background which would have made them pop a little more but are a nice little set they have done with them (except for Gal not allowing his image poor form from him or his manager with that)
Dally M cards are nice looking cards. A enjoyable little set and would look good as a full set together similar to the Bronze signatures in Traders. They look a lot better then last years but not as nice as the 2018 ones imo as they were my favourite ones but nice looking. The downside of them is the priority version. Not much about them pops in the priority ones & plus the fact not all teams have a Dally M card it’s a let down and poor decision to make them a priority version & brings me back to why captains cards or some other one per club card would have been a better choice for priority.
The Master series signatures I think look great and are a nice addition and if continued in future series I could see being collected by many similar to the Traders Legends set. It opens up the possibility of using lots of ex players in future series & not necessarily just origin & Australian players you could use any international players in the series. Think they will be something they continue to use each series. The 18 non signature ones though I don’t think are a good idea. Reminds me of the crystal collections and even though those and these Master series ones are nice looking cards I don’t think it’s exciting having so many of the same person in a set.
The Young Guns are always a nice set I enjoy. This years has a pretty good list of players to. It would have been awesome if they were signatures like normal but thanks to Covid I can understand no signatures for them but would have been great if they did redemptions for them like they managed with the LS but again I’m impressed they managed to get any signatures at all given all the Covid protocols and lack of player access. Both the white version and the black look nice in hand & I enjoy the look of them. Some of the blacks could have been down with better choices of colour in the background. The Tigers one for eg looks great with the orange on the black background but the Raiders one with the dark blue makes the whole card seem a bit plan. Bit disappointing the white version isn’t numbered but given they are a 1 per box hit I can understand numbering them may have been a bit to much to do that but would have been cool still. For the ones that only have the white version I wish they used a different photo to what they used for them all on the Future Focus series cards but again can understand it because of the photo rights costs for different photos.
The priority versions look great. It’s a pity they are numbered so low as it means not many will be able to get access or afford the set as it would be a very nice looking set all together I reckon. I would have preferred them to be numbered higher and two per box instead but still a great looking card and would love to see if someone does get a full set share some pictures of them all together.
The League Sensations look nice. I’m glad they managed to keep them in this series as I thought they may not have been able to. So well done to TLA for getting them. Hard to fully judge the actual cards yet as haven’t seen a signed one in hand due to Covid meaning they had to be redemptions but looking at the redemption cards and footage of some players signing them they do look a nice design. Hopefully quality control on the pens used is better then previous years and all the sigs are a nice sharp sig. In saying that I’m not a fan of the 3 different versions. Just more of a push towards US rainbow sets which I don’t like but I know many who collect US cards love. I think 2 versions is ok but 3 is over the top but I’ll still be wanting my teams 3 as I’m addicted to wanting them all lol. I’m not sure what happened with the black ones this year though with the gold signature being signed on a white background instead of the black. That’s a weird decision doing that as the gold on black has looked great the last few years and a real highlight in the sets for many. The team design ones are by far the best looking of the 3 versions and look great but again it’s a pity they are numbered so low.
Road to the Finals series sets I’ve never really been a big fan of given lots of sides haven’t had the chance to have them but they are always nice looking cards and will be good to see the redeemed ones pop up soon. The players used obviously for a few of the teams hasn’t worked out to well but given the limitations in what players jerseys they can get its probably unavoidable those things will happen from time to time & again given Covid the access to jerseys would have been tough so I’m glad they managed to put this together given they couldn’t obtain the jerseys needed to complete the Spotlight follow on from last years series.
The Spotlight cards look great again and I’m happy they have kept the same design of them as last years ones. Both the redemptions as a stand alone card are great looking cards and I really enjoy the look of them. It’s almost a shame to put a hole in them actually. They are also a way better idea then Road to the Finals and I’m sure if Covid didn’t happen all 8 teams that didn’t have one last year would have had one in this set so again it’s understandable how only two teams have them this year. I personally prefer a single card for a patch signature redemption but the booklets do look awesome and allow for bigger patch’s and they generate a lot of excitement with collectors so can see why they are a popular release and again will be great to see the redeemed ones as they come up.
Ball patch cards are a pretty cool idea again and will be a highly sort after card. Strange that they used Slater on yet another different card given he has so many already but I’m guessing image rights wise makes sense since he was already in the set. The photo used is a bit plan looking I’d like to see more of a action shot but great to have a ball patch from a Grand Final. Me personally I’d prefer to see ones like this from the previous season or early in the year and for a team that won that actual game but I don’t think that will factor into many if anyone else’s thoughts as it’s a cool card and I already know many that want one.
They have kept the same idea for the case cards this year. The design of them looks nice again. One thing I noticed is all are a portrait photo except Broncos and Raiders being action pics. Not sure if they couldn’t get access to portraits for them or not it’s just something I noticed. Haven’t seen a parallel one of them yet to comment on their look.
They have done the 1/1’s again which anyone who knows me knows I’m not a fan of the idea of any 1/1 cards but as cards they have always looked nice though and yes hitting any would be a huge buzz I’m not denying that I’m just not a fan of the concept. I’m sure these will be nice cards to when they pop up and many will be enjoying the hunt to try and hit one especially the Cam Smith which to this point in time could go down as the biggest NRL card ever made
I like the Golden ticket but I’m not sure how I feel about this one. This year feels like they are just using it to get rid of old stock but better to add it in then not add one in for sure. So it’s still a good thing they have them as they don’t have to add it
Maybe a good idea would be to have a golden ticket that redeems something non card related like how they did the jerseys in 2014 elite or tickets to the Grand Final box or something but that would add to their costs of production.
If this year were a normal year I’d call this release a bit of a Dogs breakfast but given the issues caused by Covid it is kinda amazing that a release even went a head so credit to TLA for putting a set out especially getting any signatures at all for it.
Overall it’s a nice release with plenty in it to keep people interested for a long time to come. I think it’s missing one more low end insert series like a elite impact or speed machines type set though.
The hits ratios in boxes seems to be off again, I’d like them to try and fix the spacing of the bigger hits in boxes. Again this release seems to have super hot boxes with two or 3 of the big hits from a case in the one box. Great if you get one of those boxes but it’s not so great for the people who get the boxes that only have a Ruby or a Ruby & Sapphire. Lots of newsagents stock don’t even have a single numbered hit in them which is sad to hear. So spacing out numbered hits needs to be improved. I’m not sure how the process is done but Id like to see more effort put into making sure the bigger hits are spread around in more boxes so it leaves less of the dud boxes.
I’ve also noticed that most cases seem to follow a trend of having the same numbering of cards. The number ranges of cards in a case seem to be similar but these are minor issues.
Lastly is my take on the whole priority stuff. I have to say I’m pretty disappointed how it’s all planned out that only a couple of dealers had access to stock and even then that access wasn’t shared equally. It would be fairer and better for all collectors and dealers alike if all dealers had the same access to stock. Not sure how much of the stock actually gets sold as boxes either but it doesn’t seem like much of it gets directly in the hands of collectors but instead it’s used for breaks. Personally from a 100% collectors point of view I’d like to see all stock of it in future available to the public to buy as boxes in a pre sale window then any stock not sold can be used however the dealers see fit to but I can totally understand the other side from a dealers few in using them to help move normal stock & give incentives for them to buy more stock etc.
Overall I’d rate this release a 7/10. Lots of things to keep all different sorts of collectors happy & things that are a let down but credit has to be given for getting this release out at all given that 2020 has been such a crazy year.
