The St George Illawarra Dragons have reportedly just lost a wealth of junior talent after the Canberra Raiders lived up to their name, nabbing five of the best up-and-coming talents from the Red V's junior ranks in the Illawarra region.
According to Wide World of Sports, the Dragons are furious at the mass of junior talent heading out the door, with the five latest departures joining an exodus of promising local youth, laying waste to the club's future development plans.
The latest players to depart include Country under-18s fullback Jack Piccirilli (Dapto), the club's under-18s Player of the Year, dummy-half Jaxson Lavender (Dapto), utility back Sean Trindall (Shellharbour Stingrays), fullback Judd Stevenson (Corrimal) and centre James Walsh (Albion Park-Oak Flats).
Local officials in the region are said to be upset at the apparent ambush, blaming the Dragons for not moving swiftly enough to retain the talented youngsters.
“It's very disappointing and you can't blame the kids,” an anonymous local league coach told WWOS.
“We've put 10 years of hard work into some of these guys.
“They're all massive talents but the Dragons just let them go.”
The news comes at a bad time for the club, with similar issues making their way to the top grades. Local juniors Jayden Sullivan and Tyrell Sloan have both requested releases in recent weeks, which has only added to the problematic air at the club.
In better news, the Dragons have been bolstered after securing star halfback Ben Hunt on a two-year extension. They have also added Wests Tigers dummy-half Jacob Liddle and Queensland Cup prop Nick Lui-Toso to their ranks.