Sport / Rugby league

Electrolytes For Rugby League

A rugby league match is 80 minutes of collisions, repeat sprints and wrestles, and professional players in one study lost an average of 2.0 litres of fluid per match. LYTES stocks Sodii, made in Australia with Australian salt at 1000 mg sodium a serve, from $59.90 AUD for a 30-serve tub, and Redmond Re-Lyte, whose tub is the best value in the range at $1.00–1.25 AUD a serve. Free metro shipping applies over $149 AUD, and every order dispatches from Wollongong in 12–48 hours.

Shop rugby league electrolytes

What goes wrong over 80 minutes

  • The last 20 minutes

    Rugby league games are often decided late, after an hour of hit-ups, tackles and repeat sprints. Cramping in the back end of a match is a signal of high sweat sodium loss stacking up, not proof you are short on fitness.

  • Big bodies, big sweat bill

    A 100 kg forward makes more heat on every carry and every tackle than a smaller athlete, and sweat volume tends to climb with it. Replacing sodium by the same rule of thumb as a lighter teammate usually leaves a big sweater short.

  • Pre-season in the heat

    Pre-season in Queensland and NSW runs through summer, often with double sessions in heat and humidity. Sweat rate rises with both temperature and intensity, so a February field session costs far more sodium than a winter training night.

  • Water from the trainer, salt from nowhere

    On game day most of what you drink comes from the trainer's bottles at stoppages, and plain water replaces fluid but none of the roughly 1,000–1,100 mg of sodium in each litre of rugby players' sweat. Dosing sodium before kick-off and at the break is where you control what goes in.

Sweat and sodium across a 90-minute session

Typical ranges for a senior rugby league player across a main training session, or an 80-minute match plus warm-up. Pick the conditions to see what a session like this costs you, and what it takes to replace it.

Sweat rate1.5 litres per hour
Sodium in sweat1100 mg per litre
Fluid lost over 1.5 hours2.3 litres

3 × 750 ml bottles

Sweat rate and sweat sodium vary widely between players — one professional study found the same player's match fluid loss varied by around a third from game to game — and bigger forwards and hot, humid sessions sit at the top of these ranges. Use these figures as a starting point, not a prescription.

Sodium lost in the session 2,475 milligrams

Roughly 2.5 serves of a 1000 mg sodium electrolyte serve, or about 1,650 mg per hour across the session.

Plain water replaces none of it.

Rugby league has a small body of published sweat research, used directly here. Sweat rate: a 2010 Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism study of 14 Super League players across the 2008 season — O'Hara et al. — measured fluid loss of 2.0±0.7 L per match (about 1.5 L/h over 80 minutes, the match-day preset). The hot, humid preset (2.0 L/h) sits at the upper end of that range, because sweat rate climbs with heat and intensity: a 2021 Nutrients study of elite soccer players — Rollo et al. — measured 0.98 L/h in cool conditions versus 1.43 L/h at 29°C for the same high-intensity session. The cool preset (1.2 L/h) reflects the 1.54±0.48 kg match sweat loss of international female rugby league players in a 2016 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research study — Jones et al. — which also measured sweat sodium of 47.8±5.7 mmol/L in match-play (roughly 1,100 mg/L); a 2017 Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition analysis of 181 professional rugby players — Ranchordas et al. — reported 44.0±12.1 mmol/L (roughly 1,010 mg/L). No NRL-specific sweat-patch study in Australian conditions was found, so the hot preset is an estimate within these ranges rather than a measured NRL figure. Hourly sodium replacement guidance falls back on the American College of Sports Medicine's position stand on exercise and fluid replacement (300–600 mg sodium per hour for exercise lasting over an hour). Use this as a starting point, not a prescription — see a sports dietitian for individual advice.

Brand in focus

Sodii

1000mg sodium. Australian salt. Zero sugar.

Made in Australia with Australian salt, with a full 1000 mg sodium serve for big sweaters, match day and hot pre-season sessions.

  • 1000mg sodium per serve - matches LMNT, the highest we stock
  • Made in Australia with Australian salt
  • Zero sugar, naturally sweetened with stevia
  • Free metro shipping over $149
  • Dispatched same day before 12pm AEST
Shop all Sodii

Brand in focus

Redmond Re-Lyte

810mg sodium. Real salt from an ancient seabed. Zero sugar.

The best-value tub in our range, and the one to keep in the sheds across a full season of training nights.

  • 810-1000 mg sodium per serve, from Redmond Real Salt
  • Zero sugar, naturally sweetened with stevia
  • $1.00-$1.25 a serve in the tub - our best-value tub format
  • Free metro shipping over $149
  • Dispatched same day before 12pm AEST
Shop all Re-Lyte

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Tubs for the sheds, sticks for the kit bag. Pick what suits your squad and your match day.

Don't forget the other half of fuelling

Electrolytes replace what you sweat out. Carbs replace what you burn.

Past about 90 minutes of hard training, sodium alone will not stop you fading. Gels and chews top up the carbohydrate your legs and lungs are burning, so you can dose salt and fuel separately instead of relying on a single mix to do both jobs.

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How salty do you sweat?

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words can't express how much more active, calm & relaxed I've become since I was put onto this product. Extremely happy 👍🏼

Rob · Verified buyerLMNT Big Fruity Pack - 30 Sticks

Excellent product from an excellent online retailer

I'm happy to be buying my LMNT electrolytes from LYTES. My subscription is easy to manage and adjust as my needs change. I appreciate the free shipping on my large orders.

K.C. · Verified buyerLMNT Lemonade Salt Electrolyte Mix - 30 Sticks

Rugby league and electrolytes, answered

How much sodium should I take for a rugby league match or training session?

The general guidance for exercise lasting over an hour is 300–600 mg of sodium per hour. Rugby players' sweat carries roughly 1,000–1,100 mg of sodium per litre, so bigger players and hot pre-season sessions tend to sit at or above the top of that range — use the calculator above for a session-specific estimate, and a sports dietitian for individual advice.

Do forwards need more electrolytes than backs?

Often, yes. Bigger bodies produce more heat for every carry and tackle and tend to sweat more volume, so a forward can lose more sodium than a smaller teammate in the same session. Weighing yourself before and after training is the simplest way to see your own sweat loss.

What's the easiest way to sort electrolytes for a whole squad?

Most clubs keep a tub or two in the sheds for training nights and give players single-serve sticks or sachets for the kit bag on game day. Variety packs are a cheap way to find a flavour the squad will actually drink before committing to tubs, and Re-Lyte's tub is the best value per serve in our range at $1.00–1.25 AUD.

Sodii or Redmond Re-Lyte — which suits rugby league?

Both are zero sugar and both replace real sodium. Sodii carries 1000 mg sodium, 210 mg potassium and 70 mg magnesium per serve, made in Australia with Australian salt. Redmond Re-Lyte carries 810 mg sodium (flavoured) to 1000 mg (Unflavoured) per 5g serve, with 400 mg potassium, made with real salt from an ancient seabed, and also comes in capsules. Many players use one in a tub at home and sticks of either in the kit bag.

Is a winter season sweaty enough to need electrolytes?

Yes. A study of Super League players across a northern-hemisphere season measured an average of 2.0 litres of fluid lost per match. Cool weather lowers sweat rate, but 80 minutes of collisions and repeat sprints still costs real sodium.

How fast will my order arrive?

We dispatch from Wollongong within 12 to 48 hours, metro shipping is free over $149, and unopened, unused items in original packaging can be returned within 30 days.

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