Select Hilites & Rising Star Cards Explained
What Are Select Hilites Cards?
Hilites are our officially licensed weekly card series spotlighting the standout player performance from each AFL or NRL round. Every week during the season, one player earns the Hilites nod, and we produce a card showcasing their in-game skills on the front, with detailed player attributes printed on the rear.
If you collect NRL cards, 2026 is a landmark year. NRL Hilites launched for the very first time this season, bringing the same weekly format AFL collectors have loved for years to rugby league fans. It's a genuinely new product category for the NRL, and the response has been huge.
We've been producing official AFL and NRL cards since 1993, and as the current and longest-serving official AFL licensee (with close to 50 years of combined AFL and NRL licensing), the Hilites series carries serious weight. Over 100,000 collectors trust us to deliver, and this weekly series is one of the reasons why.
What Are Rising Star Cards?
AFL Rising Star cards are a companion weekly series to Hilites, focused on the next generation. Each card is tied directly to the official Telstra AFL Rising Star nomination for that round, honouring the best-performing young or emerging player selected by the league itself.
What makes these cards particularly exciting: a Rising Star card can be a player's very first card, produced before they ever appear in a mainstream set. If that player goes on to win the Rising Star award or becomes a genuine star of the competition, their early Hilites-era Rising Star card becomes incredibly sought-after.
The Rising Star theme also extends into other Select products. The 2026 AFL Footy Stars set, for example, includes Rising Star Predictor Signature cards (18 total) and Rising Star Predictor Patch inserts (18 total), giving collectors multiple ways to back their picks for the award.
The ONE CHANCE Model: Why the Order Window Changes Everything
Both Hilites and Rising Star cards are part of our ONE CHANCE product family. The concept is simple but unforgiving: you get one strictly time-limited window to order after each round. Once it closes, that card is gone forever. No reprints. No restocks. Ever.
For the 2026 AFL season, the order window runs for 48 hours, from 4pm AEST Tuesday to 4pm AEST Thursday following each round. NRL Hilites follow the same 48-hour format: 4pm Tuesday to 4pm AEST Thursday. The window is pushed a day if there are public holidays or game scheduling changes. Milestones and other ONE-CHANCE cards like State of Origin Hilites, usually run after the normal cycles.
This is a notable improvement from 2025, when the AFL window was just 24 hours (noon Tuesday to noon Wednesday). We listened to the community, and the extended 2026 window gives collectors more breathing room to place their orders without the panic.
Miss the window and there's no second chance. That's the whole point. For NRL and AFL Hilites and Rising Stars, shipping is a flat subsidized fee regardless of how many cards you order in a single transaction, so there's no penalty for grabbing multiples.
How Print Runs Work: Your Card Number Tells a Story
After the order window closes, cards are digitally printed to match the exact number of orders received. No extras, no warehouse stock, no future availability. The print run equals demand, making every Hilites and Rising Star card a true demand-driven limited edition.
Each card is individually numbered (for example, 100/249 if 249 were ordered), and card numbers are allocated at random. It doesn't matter when you placed your order or how many you bought.
Real print run figures tell an interesting story. In 2023, AFL Hilites ranged from just /182 for Harry Himmelberg (GWS Giants, Round 5) to /503 for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (Western Bulldogs, Round 3). Jordan De Goey (Collingwood, Round 1) came in at /344, while a 2024 Jamie Elliott card (also Collingwood) ran to /770. Popular clubs clearly drive higher volumes.
Those lower print runs, often tied to smaller-club players, can become extremely scarce and valuable on the secondary market. A /82 card is a genuinely rare piece of cardboard.
Production and delivery takes up to 21 days after the window closes, though cards often arrive sooner. You'll receive tracking when your order is dispatched.
How to Never Miss a Drop: WhatsApp Alerts and What to Expect
The easiest way to stay across every release is our free WhatsApp notifications. Each alert includes a photo of the new card and a direct purchase link, sent right at the start of every order window throughout the season. Alerts are available to setup for each upcoming card in the days before (before the players featured are known).