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Western and Pacific Premierships

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Posted March 30, 2026 15:53 · last edited March 30, 2026 15:56

mraotxt2 wrote:
 hotchips wrote:
 bigfudge wrote:
What have they done to rub clubs up the wrong way? Poaching the odd player I'd understand tbf. I'm still pretty shocked that Lynmouth reaches the standards for Central League grounds as well tbf. Still nice to see some Central Football representation though.
It was explained to me that the "traditional" clubs lose their juniors to Boys High for high school footy, then there's a bit of a pipeline from there to FC Western. There's a fair few lads floating around who've been discarded by Western so that probably plays into it. 
Sounds a fair bit like Napier city in the east. It’s possibly the cost of having a CL side in the region? 
It's always a strange situation because whats the point of having a CL team in a region like the Naki or Hawkes Bay if they're not going to give opportunities to locals. 

Always feels frustrating to lose players to these clubs but you need them to be give these players the opportunity to play at a high level.

For other Naki clubs, the best case scenario is that young players stick around longer now that CL is an option, and then eventually these trickle players down to the CL2 and Prems sides.

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bigfudge edited March 30, 2026 15:56
mraotxt2 wrote:
 hotchips wrote:
 bigfudge wrote:
What have they done to rub clubs up the wrong way? Poaching the odd player I'd understand tbf. I'm still pretty shocked that Lynmouth reaches the standards for Central League grounds as well tbf. Still nice to see some Central Football representation though.
It was explained to me that the "traditional" clubs lose their juniors to Boys High for high school footy, then there's a bit of a pipeline from there to FC Western. There's a fair few lads floating around who've been discarded by Western so that probably plays into it. 
Sounds a fair bit like Napier city in the east. It’s possibly the cost of having a CL side in the region? 
It's always a strange situation because whats the point of having a CL team in a region like the Naki or Hawkes Bay if they're not going to give opportunities to locals. 

Rovers tended to cop some flack because they'd sign these young local players, boast about how they're giving opportunities to young players, then give them minimal minutes and replace them with a english journeyman paid for by Rodney Green's 'donations'