2019 Elite review

Brendan_B

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Well OZCT members, boxes of common cards are being dumped into the fire pits to counter the last of those westerlies, low end insert cards are being sold for 50c each and the NRL is down to four teams! It has taken a bit longer to get together this time but finally, here it is, the 2019 NRL Elite review!!

There is a detailed summary at the end but in short, this is a cracking release and easily the best Elite so far. Congrats TLA!!

As usual, please add your two cents and try to be objective!

OVERVIEW

As we have become accustomed to, Elite is a 24 packet box, ten box per case release. At $8 per packet it is not cheap but I feel that price provides a reasonable value for money. There have been suggestions that Elite should be split into a hobby and retail release with the latter being cheaper ($6 per packet) but having less of the big hits. Previously, I thought this was not a bad idea when it was obvious that hobby cases were 'stocked''. This year, intended or not, the big hits seem to well spread through both dealer and newsagent stock. The packets and boxes are a nice clean design and quite appealing however the collation in respect to inserts has been an issue. For a high end product of this nature, each sealed box should have a numbered hit, I believe there are enough numbered hits to make this happen. I know that odds are across the whole production run and not guaranteed per box / case but I am sure there is away for this to occur. The quality control seems to be quite good this year, previous Elite releases I have had to send back several damage cards but not one this time.

FOLDERS

19 Elite folders are nice. The design doesn't really change much year to year, just the color. I did like the way Select mixed their folders up but that also worked because they changed their high end release name each year. At $25, I feel there should be a folder card or packet of Elite included.

BASE SET

This years base set has a nice clean look to it. The Elite release has really made the matte finish on cards their own and it works well. I do not really chase IP's (aside from FOTG) but I am sure these base cards would come up a treat. 144 is a good number, with nine per page however I would still like to see the club logo be the 'middle card'' of each team set and instead of a checklist contain some info about premierships etc.

SILVER SPECIAL

This set is a really nice contrast to the base set and certainly one of the nice Elite parallel sets produced. I am a big fan of the use of different images to the base and the only way this set could improve would be to foil number the parallels to value add for the low end packet buyer. I liked how this was done in Glory and I believe the AFL do it in their series 2 release. The obvious detriment would be that it drives prices up.

SPEED MACHINES

This insert series is a cracker. Really well designed cards, colorful and pretty good player selection. Obviously a few players changed clubs during the season but I would imagine production would be well underway when this occurred so it is just one of those things. I cannot believe that the 32 card set is selling for less than $20, it is just crazy!

WNRL

It is good to see the continued support of the WNRL with a stand alone insert set. The cards are just a base with gold behind the player instead of grey and to that end, I feel they are a bit plain and could certainly have had the WNRL in gold foil.

SPOTLIGHT

This is my least favorite low end insert set. The card design is okay, a bit on the plain side and I feel this was an insert set made to make up the numbers. This is reflected in the pricing with most of these cards struggling to hit $1.50ea despite being only 2 per box. This set will obviously continue in Elite 20 and it will be interesting to see if Spotlight jersey cards feature one of the two players in this set. From a personal perspective I really hope so, a Whitehead jersey card would be great!

DALLY M

I was really happy to see this set continue. This years design is great and I really like how the set expands to cover other awards aside from the Team of the Year. I would imagine that these would look great IP signed and the faded image of the player is a real winner despite making each player look like they have light highlights in their hair!

CAPTAINS

After three seasons of this set, I really felt it was time for it to go, particularly based on last years set and the nickname Çraptains'!! I was very wrong, this set is great, the gloss finish provides a strong point of difference to previous years as does the landscape style and use of actual images including a game shot with the full background! This will have pleased lots of collectors who love the Scanlens! My only criticism is that Hodgson was named a co-captain in the off season and GI went pretty early, not sure if he could have been scratched. I will acknowledge thought that having a co-captain on these cards would be a very difficult design to make.

CUSTODIANS

Another very nice insert set. Obvious player selection due to the position and some quality players/ The gold foil on the right is a classy touch, hopefully moving forward they continue this set but a different position each year. This is a great addition as a box card.

YOUNG GUNS SIGNATURE

Very nice cards. I love the grey highlighted area around the player and the card is not too 'busy'' which allows the signature to standout. From the cards that I have seen, the signature quality has been good however there seems to be a couple of different pens or at least different thickness creeping in again which is not ideal. I was thrilled with CNK as a player selection and overall I felt the player selection was quite good with some genuine stars in the making.

LEAGUE SENSATIONS SIGNATURE

My initial response to these was that I wasn't a big fan. The first few I saw had poor quality signatures and the player had signed over their image and up the card. You can't really give TLA grief over this though, imagine trying to tell big Klemmer his signature needs work...My other initial issue with this card design was the gold LS logo. I have come to like it more than I did initially but I feel it takes a bit of focus away from the signature and clashes with the gold around the player. This logo nneded to be more subtle. Player selection is again excellent headlined by Ferguson and Surgess and from a personal point of view I was happy to add a Sezer to the PC despite his average moniker.

YGB / LSB

I am very happy these continued as they are an exquisite card, one of my very favorites ever made. The issue I had with LS as outlined above is not a problem for the LSB, it compliments the card nicely. The personal touch by Ferguson is brilliant and I would love to see more of this moving forward. Aside from the Surgess getting big $$ the prices are down on these which is disappointing as they are rare and a great card. Now to find that CNK *01 black YG...

RUBY / SAPPHIRE MOJOS

These are a beautifully designed card and really work. They are classy and having the Sapphires inserted individually is another masterstroke as it has kept prices up and really value adds to the box and packet buyer. In comparison, last years mojos are ordinary. TLA have really nailed this these sets.

EMERALD / BLACK DIAMOND MOJOS

As above, these are really classy looking cards and the design works perfectly for a high end hit. I am glad the emerald and black diamond have remained as sets as hitting a mojo packet with one of these is a great experience. I like the dual images taken from the Ruby and Sapphire sets and the reversing of these images on each level. The Mojo concept was getting a bit tired but the design and way they have been inserted has given it a good freshen up.

CASE CARDS

The Head to Head case cards are easily the best case cards released to date. Reasonably low number (/61), all teams covered and some cracking choices such as Mitchell v Chambers and Surgess v Graham. The obvious issue is the Titans / Warriors card having the names back the front...a fairly significant stuff up...The design on this insert set is well done with the team color behind the player making the card very aesthetically pleasing.

SPOTLIGHT JERSEY

I like this new concept and the move away from the RTF series where many of the same teams were getting card release after release due to their success. Some joy for long suffering Titans fans who don't look close to being a top eight team and some excellent player selection overall. There have been some really nice patches around although I wish the best patches were kept for 01 and jersey numbered cards. These seems to be holding a bit more value this release which is probably due to the lesser number produced (/83).

SPOTLIGHT JERSEY SIGNATURE

The booklet design is very innovative and while I am yet to hold one in hand (I have the Jurbo *13 sitting at the Post Office), the images I have seen are excellent. Some really nice patches and plenty of room for the signature which allows focus on the two most important aspects of the card, the signature and the patch. I really look forward to the Canberra version in 2020!

ALL STARS MATCH BALL

Another card I haven't held in hand but seem to be well received with plenty of nice ball patches, prices holding okay and good player selection. Tigers fan or not, Benji has had such an influence over the modern game that I would be happy to have this one in the PC. The image and match the ball were used in are obviously quite dated but this is not an issue for me.

FUTERA GOLD 1/1

I am really glad to see these back and the design is absolutely second to none. Clearly, the best patches have been saved for these cards and so they should. I have not seen one in hand but the posted images really do such a rare and high end card justice.

GOLDEN TICKET

Another masterstroke (pun intended) by TLA inserting these on a team basis. How exciting would it be to bust one of these? Even the redemption looks classy and again, this really value adds to those breaking product with a chance to hit a 1/1 and full team master set.

SUMMARY

A cracking release, easily the best Elite to date. The overall design, quality and value for money in this release is top shelf. My biggest concern is the collation as mentioned at the start. There are plenty of numbered hits to ensure that each box has at least one numbered hit. I give this release an 8.5/10.

Well done TLA!
 
Last edited:
Well OZCT members, boxes of common cards are being dumped into the fire pits to counter the last of those westerlies, low end insert cards are being sold for 50c each and the NRL is down to four teams! It has taken a bit longer to get together this time but finally, here it is, the 2019 NRL Elite review!!

There is a detailed summary at the end but in short, this is a cracking release and easily the best Elite so far. Congrats TLA!!

As usual, please add your two cents and try to be objective!

OVERVIEW

As we have become accustomed to, Elite is a 24 packet box, ten box per case release. At $8 per packet it is not cheap but I feel that price provides a reasonable value for money. There have been suggestions that Elite should be split into a hobby and retail release with the latter being cheaper ($6 per packet) but having less of the big hits. Previously, I thought this was not a bad idea when it was obvious that hobby cases were 'stocked''. This year, intended or not, the big hits seem to well spread through both dealer and newsagent stock. The packets and boxes are a nice clean design and quite appealing however the collation in respect to inserts has been an issue. For a high end product of this nature, each sealed box should have a numbered hit, I believe there are enough numbered hits to make this happen. I know that odds are across the whole production run and not guaranteed per box / case but I am sure there is away for this to occur. The quality control seems to be quite good this year, previous Elite releases I have had to send back several damage cards but not one this time.

FOLDERS

19 Elite folders are nice. The design doesn't really change much year to year, just the color. I did like the way Select mixed their folders up but that also worked because they changed their high end release name each year. At $25, I feel there should be a folder card or packet of Elite included.

BASE SET

This years base set has a nice clean look to it. The Elite release has really made the matte finish on cards their own and it works well. I do not really chase IP's (aside from FOTG) but I am sure these base cards would come up a treat. 144 is a good number, with nine per page however I would still like to see the club logo be the 'middle card'' of each team set and instead of a checklist contain some info about premierships etc.

SILVER SPECIAL

This set is a really nice contrast to the base set and certainly one of the nice Elite parallel sets produced. I am a big fan of the use of different images to the base and the only way this set could improve would be to foil number the parallels to value add for the low end packet buyer. I liked how this was done in Glory and I believe the AFL do it in their series 2 release. The obvious detriment would be that it drives prices up.

SPEED MACHINES

This insert series is a cracker. Really well designed cards, colorful and pretty good player selection. Obviously a few players changed clubs during the season but I would imagine production would be well underway when this occurred so it is just one of those things. I cannot believe that the 32 card set is selling for less than $20, it is just crazy!

WNRL

It is good to see the continued support of the WNRL with a stand alone insert set. The cards are just a base with gold behind the player instead of grey and to that end, I feel they are a bit plain and could certainly have had the WNRL in gold foil.

SPOTLIGHT

This is my least favorite low end insert set. The card design is okay, a bit on the plain side and I feel this was an insert set made to make up the numbers. This is reflected in the pricing with most of these cards struggling to hit $1.50ea despite being only 2 per box. This set will obviously continue in Elite 20 and it will be interesting to see if Spotlight jersey cards feature one of the two players in this set. From a personal perspective I really hope so, a Whitehead jersey card would be great!

DALLY M

I was really happy to see this set continue. This years design is great and I really like how the set expands to cover other awards aside from the Team of the Year. I would imagine that these would look great IP signed and the faded image of the player is a real winner despite making each player look like they have light highlights in their hair!

CAPTAINS

After three seasons of this set, I really felt it was time for it to go, particularly based on last years set and the nickname Çraptains'!! I was very wrong, this set is great, the gloss finish provides a strong point of difference to previous years as does the landscape style and use of actual images including a game shot with the full background! This will have pleased lots of collectors who love the Scanlens! My only criticism is that Hodgson was named a co-captain in the off season and GI went pretty early, not sure if he could have been scratched. I will acknowledge thought that having a co-captain on these cards would be a very difficult design to make.

CUSTODIANS

Another very nice insert set. Obvious player selection due to the position and some quality players/ The gold foil on the right is a classy touch, hopefully moving forward they continue this set but a different position each year. This is a great addition as a box card.

YOUNG GUNS SIGNATURE

Very nice cards. I love the grey highlighted area around the player and the card is not too 'busy'' which allows the signature to standout. From the cards that I have seen, the signature quality has been good however there seems to be a couple of different pens or at least different thickness creeping in again which is not ideal. I was thrilled with CNK as a player selection and overall I felt the player selection was quite good with some genuine stars in the making.

LEAGUE SENSATIONS SIGNATURE

My initial response to these was that I wasn't a big fan. The first few I saw had poor quality signatures and the player had signed over their image and up the card. You can't really give TLA grief over this though, imagine trying to tell big Klemmer his signature needs work...My other initial issue with this card design was the gold LS logo. I have come to like it more than I did initially but I feel it takes a bit of focus away from the signature and clashes with the gold around the player. This logo nneded to be more subtle. Player selection is again excellent headlined by Ferguson and Surgess and from a personal point of view I was happy to add a Sezer to the PC despite his average moniker.

YGB / LSB

I am very happy these continued as they are an exquisite card, one of my very favorites ever made. The issue I had with LS as outlined above is not a problem for the LSB, it compliments the card nicely. The personal touch by Ferguson is brilliant and I would love to see more of this moving forward. Aside from the Surgess getting big $$ the prices are down on these which is disappointing as they are rare and a great card. Now to find that CNK *01 black YG...

RUBY / SAPPHIRE MOJOS

These are a beautifully designed card and really work. They are classy and having the Sapphires inserted individually is another masterstroke as it has kept prices up and really value adds to the box and packet buyer. In comparison, last years mojos are ordinary. TLA have really nailed this these sets.

EMERALD / BLACK DIAMOND MOJOS

As above, these are really classy looking cards and the design works perfectly for a high end hit. I am glad the emerald and black diamond have remained as sets as hitting a mojo packet with one of these is a great experience. I like the dual images taken from the Ruby and Sapphire sets and the reversing of these images on each level. The Mojo concept was getting a bit tired but the design and way they have been inserted has given it a good freshen up.

CASE CARDS

The Head to Head case cards are easily the best case cards released to date. Reasonably low number (/61), all teams covered and some cracking choices such as Mitchell v Chambers and Surgess v Graham. The obvious issue is the Titans / Warriors card having the names back the front...a fairly significant stuff up...The design on this insert set is well done with the team color behind the player making the card very aesthetically pleasing.

SPOTLIGHT JERSEY

I like this new concept and the move away from the RTF series where many of the same teams were getting card release after release due to their success. Some joy for long suffering Titans fans who don't look close to being a top eight team and some excellent player selection overall. There have been some really nice patches around although I wish the best patches were kept for 01 and jersey numbered cards. These seems to be holding a bit more value this release which is probably due to the lesser number produced (/83).

SPOTLIGHT JERSEY SIGNATURE

The booklet design is very innovative and while I am yet to hold one in hand (I have the Jurbo *13 sitting at the Post Office), the images I have seen are excellent. Some really nice patches and plenty of room for the signature which allows focus on the two most important aspects of the card, the signature and the patch. I really look forward to the Canberra version in 2020!

ALL STARS MATCH BALL

Another card I haven't held in hand but seem to be well received with plenty of nice ball patches, prices holding okay and good player selection. Tigers fan or not, Benji has had such and influence over the modern game that I would be happy to have this one in the PC. The image and match the ball were used in are obviously quite dated but this is not an issue for me.

FUTERA GOLD 1/1

I am really glad to see these back and the design is absolutely second to none. Clearly, the best patches have been saved for these cards and so they should. I have not seen one in hand but the posted images really do such a rare and high end card justice.

GOLDEN TICKET

Another masterstroke (pun intended) by TLA inserting these on a team basis. How exciting would it be to bust one of these? Even the redemption looks classy and again, this really value adds to those breaking product with a chance to hit a 1/1 and full team master set.

SUMMARY

A cracking release, easily the best Elite to date. The overall design, quality and value for money in this release is top shelf. My biggest concern is the collation as mentioned at the start. There are plenty of numbered hits to ensure that each box has at least one numbered hit. I give this release an 8.5/10.

Well done TLA!


Very well written write up!

Like you I look forward to 2020 and the only very minor change I would make to the League Sensations Black is the foiling instead of the standard gold foil.

The Young Guns have a Holo Reflective Silver, the gold on the LS would look superb!

Other than that, look forward to grabbing the Panthers jersey patches and booklets next year (hopefully!)

Cheers
Matt
 
Very well written write up!

Like you I look forward to 2020 and the only very minor change I would make to the League Sensations Black is the foiling instead of the standard gold foil.

The Young Guns have a Holo Reflective Silver, the gold on the LS would look superb!

Other than that, look forward to grabbing the Panthers jersey patches and booklets next year (hopefully!)

Cheers
Matt

Player preference for Riff?

I hope for a Whitehead or Bateman.
 
Very well written write up!

Like you I look forward to 2020 and the only very minor change I would make to the League Sensations Black is the foiling instead of the standard gold foil.

The Young Guns have a Holo Reflective Silver, the gold on the LS would look superb!

Other than that, look forward to grabbing the Panthers jersey patches and booklets next year (hopefully!)

Cheers
Matt
Surely the panthers are due next year . Cleary would be nice ?
 
Great write up. The only issue I had was newsagents boxes aren’t the same as dealers ones. Ie: there must be a ruby and signature/ another hit in box.

If they want to differentiate between them, don’t do it with hits, but special card for each dealers and newsagent boxes.

No dud boxes!
 
Great write up. The only issue I had was newsagents boxes aren’t the same as dealers ones. Ie: there must be a ruby and signature/ another hit in box.

If they want to differentiate between them, don’t do it with hits, but special card for each dealers and newsagent boxes.

No dud boxes!
Not enough rubies to be guaranteed one per box over the entire release. Newsagent boxes were light on rubies but a fair few emerald and black mojo sets were also hit in the newsagent boxes and a few triple hit boxes as well. I even got a light dealer box with only a ruby in it.
Maybe you could make it a double hit box with the exception of black mojos, 1 of 1s and master set redemptions being a 1 hit box if there is not enough for a double hit across the release.
 
My understanding is that Elite is a 640 case release (6400 boxes, correct me if I am wrong).

If my math is correct, the numbered hits are as follows;

Mojo Ruby - 5760
Mojo Sapphire - 2880
Mojo Emerald - 160
Mojo Black Diamond - 80

League Sensation White - 1440
Young Gun White - 1440
League Sensation Black - 640
Young Gun Black - 640

Spotlight Jersey Patch - 664
Spotlight Jersey Patch - 320

All Stars Redemption - 66

Futera 1/1 - 8

Golden Ticket - 16

This is a total of 13,474 numbered hits across the whole release. The Mojo Ruby & Sapphire have been counted individually as that is how they are inserted. Now I know that odds are not guaranteed per packet / box / case and are based on the overall run, but I think that if each box were to contain two numbered hits, with some containing three, punters would be happy.

The collation was my biggest concern with this release. Whether through design or otherwise, newsagent boxes seemed to be adequately stocked with higher end hits. I busted a dealer case which had 1 x LSB and 3 x YGB but no 'bigger' hit such as the jersey booklet, /10 or /5 mojo etc. The amount of higher end hits indicate each case should have at least one but that was obviously not how this case fell.

From a realistic point of view, this is certainly;y an area that could be improved or controlled better but there will always be the odd slip up.
 
My understanding is that Elite is a 640 case release (6400 boxes, correct me if I am wrong).

If my math is correct, the numbered hits are as follows;

Mojo Ruby - 5760
Mojo Sapphire - 2880
Mojo Emerald - 160
Mojo Black Diamond - 80

League Sensation White - 1440
Young Gun White - 1440
League Sensation Black - 640
Young Gun Black - 640

Spotlight Jersey Patch - 664
Spotlight Jersey Patch - 320

All Stars Redemption - 66

Futera 1/1 - 8

Golden Ticket - 16

This is a total of 13,474 numbered hits across the whole release. The Mojo Ruby & Sapphire have been counted individually as that is how they are inserted. Now I know that odds are not guaranteed per packet / box / case and are based on the overall run, but I think that if each box were to contain two numbered hits, with some containing three, punters would be happy.

The collation was my biggest concern with this release. Whether through design or otherwise, newsagent boxes seemed to be adequately stocked with higher end hits. I busted a dealer case which had 1 x LSB and 3 x YGB but no 'bigger' hit such as the jersey booklet, /10 or /5 mojo etc. The amount of higher end hits indicate each case should have at least one but that was obviously not how this case fell.

From a realistic point of view, this is certainly;y an area that could be improved or controlled better but there will always be the odd slip up.

Easiest way to fix the Rubies issue is make the set 160 cards again and have 10 cards a pack.

160 players (Inc Logos) x 40 Rubies = 6400 hits across 6400 boxes.

Guaranteed 1 per box.
 
Easiest way to fix the Rubies issue is make the set 160 cards again and have 10 cards a pack.

160 players (Inc Logos) x 40 Rubies = 6400 hits across 6400 boxes.

Guaranteed 1 per box.
how do you fit 10 rubies into a 9 pocket page, you don't, then you have to add another 16 pages to an album.
therefore you have to buy more albums, nfw, 1 elite set you would have 7 albums if you were to do it properly,
next year it would be good to see a yellow album with black lettering, already mentioned to tla.
 
how do you fit 10 rubies into a 9 pocket page, you don't, then you have to add another 16 pages to an album.
therefore you have to buy more albums, nfw, 1 elite set you would have 7 albums if you were to do it properly,
next year it would be good to see a yellow album with black lettering, already mentioned to tla.

You are right, but I was more talking about the odds only, not whether they fit into a 9 page folder. You could go the other way and reduce the print run but I doubt this would happen.

While i'm sure there are plenty of people who try to collect every card out of Elite, there are probably just as many who only collect their own team and wouldn't need a new album (or 7) every year.

But I do get your point!
 
You are right, but I was more talking about the odds only, not whether they fit into a 9 page folder. You could go the other way and reduce the print run but I doubt this would happen.

While i'm sure there are plenty of people who try to collect every card out of Elite, there are probably just as many who only collect their own team and wouldn't need a new album (or 7) every year.

But I do get your point!
Or if your only a team collector, 10 rubies, 10 saphires, 10 emerals ,10 black diamonds, thats an extra 4 pages,
If doing 16 teams,
4 x 16 equals 64 pages.
Thats 64 % of another box of ultra pro pages just in mojos alone.
Brendan, as usual, great analogy again bud,
I was very impressed withe look of the emeralds, best looking card ever by tla.
Others great.
Only thing i did not like, in my opion, was the base set, just looks like a cheap b o cra.
 
You are right, but I was more talking about the odds only, not whether they fit into a 9 page folder. You could go the other way and reduce the print run but I doubt this would happen.

While i'm sure there are plenty of people who try to collect every card out of Elite, there are probably just as many who only collect their own team and wouldn't need a new album (or 7) every year.

But I do get your point!

I wouldn`t be too concerned about the Mojo cards as you probably won`t see then at all in next years set ....
 
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