A famous football family has launched a player valuation and recruiting platform.
Brisbane premiership player and current West Coast Eagle Brandon, his cousin Jackson, a former Collingwood VFL-listed player, and Uncle, Craig, the Lions' AFLW coach, founded the grassroots platform ClubScout.
It is designed to connect players and prospective clubs and provide local footballers across the country with an accurate gauge of their financial worth, while taking the pressure off club volunteers to rely on informal processes to recruit players.
"In the free agency space and trade period last year, I was lucky enough to have a manager who knows about negotiating and my worth," West Coast's Brandon Starcevich told Zero Hanger.
"Local footy players don't have that, so this platform provides that conduit for clubs to do their recruiting and players to get a figure they're actually worth."
More than 3000 players have already registered since it opened on October 1 last year, with clubs also showing strong interest since the platform was officially launched on June 1.
It is free for players to create a profile and receive a free valuation guide, drawn from verified PlayHQ performance data, that indicates the general per-game bracket they sit in.
It provides a credible starting point for negotiations with clubs – an important step for the future of local footy, given that the informal nature of player movement can cause tension for players to fight for their true worth.
Players remain in control of their visibility, with profiles always hidden from their current club.
It costs $300 per season for clubs to join and is customisable, allowing clubs to target the types of players their list needs.
"If you don't make it (to the AFL) from pathways, you either pursue state league footy or go to local footy: what troubles people with the transition is that, unless you're asked, you feel uncomfortable pushing your own case," Jackson Starcevich told Zero Hanger.
"We think this will allow conversations to reach a fairer outcome and provides the missing link we've been missing for a while in local footy."
Transparency is also an important component, with the current climate such that underpaid players often feel their services are not adequately compensated and overpaid players feel pressure from clubs.
It was conceptualised by Jackson Starcevich about 12 months ago, with the family working diligently since to bring the product to market.
"I had a unique journey where most of my footy was spent in suburban, country and state league footy, and (Dad and Brandon) have the professional experience, so between the three of us, we acknowledge the benefit for all levels of footy," Jackson told Zero Hanger.
"We wanted to develop something where people could get found more easily and ensure clubs and players could get a better, fairer deal, protecting both parties long term."
With expectations on all stakeholders at the local footy level continually increasing, the conduit addresses a gap in the market.
"With more money comes more scrutiny and making sure you're spending it wisely – I've been overpaid and underpaid, and it leaves an awkward predicament where one side feels disadvantaged at all times," Jackson added.
"We're really optimistic that we want to grow this for the good of the sport.
"We want to grow this out and be the dominant local footy platform and grow it out to other team sports long-term and provide Australia with a social network for local sport."
