redyellow&blue wrote:While i can't speak for what Brighton do, i can confirm this kind of garbage of what is basically kid poaching is very real in the junior leagues. I know it's happened to a number of different clubs, including rosewater and even para hills. Few years back when Fitzroy decided to make some changes from the bottom up, as in right down from U7s onwards to rebuild the base, The club let a number of junior coaches go. Those coaches ended up a specific club, and then the club caught one of them literally in the club car park handing out their card to parents AND kids telling to "come to a better club". Literally in the carpark. Needless to say once he was seen he jumped in the car and out the club before it got nasty.
This was happening with SANFL clubs too, pushing talent that lower clubs had noticed and provided to SANFL development squads, by suggesting they needed to go specifically named higher division clubs to get noticed. Those SANFL clubs had people connected to the "specific" clubs they were telling them to go to. I Know of people who personally have a text chat or a phone call advising they are leaving or can't come back because they got sold bright lights and dubious promises. I even have the proof of it.
I know that the SANFL has worked hard to pressure SANFL clubs not to do it anymore, but you'll always have some people who winning is the be all and end all, at the expense of the clubs trying to build themselves a solid base. Afterthesiren is right, It's pretty disgusting.
That kind of set up happened in the Centrals region with the underage kids at centrals being encouraged to go out to Salisbury North so they could all play together more often. In fairness to SN though they had built the networks between the two clubs probably set up by the Chaplin connection.
Not sure its morally right to be doing though.