FOOTY RECRUITING GETS ITS BIGGEST SHAKE-UP IN DECADES WITH LAUNCH OF CLUBSCOUT
Founded by football family Craig, Brandon and Jackson Starcevich, ClubScout is Australia’s first verified player valuation and recruiting platform built for grassroots football. It has officially launched, giving players and clubs a smarter, fairer and more transparent way to connect.
It tackles a long-standing problem in local football. Recruiting has long relied on word of mouth, guesswork and informal networks, leaving players unsure of their value and clubs unsure who to target or what to pay. ClubScout changes that.
For players, ClubScout is completely free. They 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 is there to guide, not dictate, giving players a credible starting point to negotiate from. Players stay in full control of their visibility, with profiles always hidden from their current club.
For clubs, it is a powerful recruiting tool to find the right players, at the right time, at the right price. The annual subscription has been deliberately set at an accessible $300 to maximise early value for clubs.
Since opening player registrations in October, more than 3,000 players have signed up, with the platform launching to both players and clubs on 1 June 2026.
Co-founder Craig Starcevich said ClubScout was built to bring transparency and professionalism to community football recruiting. “Local footy is the heartbeat of our game, but recruiting has barely changed in decades,” he said.
“When a player has a better understanding of what they may be worth, both sides win. It creates a fair, transparent starting point, helps the whole system evaluate talent more accurately, and lets clubs recruit smarter within their salary cap. It’s built by footy people who understand every level of the game.”
Starcevich brings unmatched credentials. A member of Collingwood’s 1990 premiership team and part of Brisbane’s three-peat high-performance staff, he is now the longest-serving senior coach in AFLW history. He led the Brisbane Lions to premierships in 2021 and 2023 and was the first person to win both an AFL and an AFLW flag.
Fellow co-founder Brandon Starcevich brings a current player’s perspective. A dual AFL premiership player who recently joined West Coast after 132 games with Brisbane, he said ClubScout was designed to give players greater control over their football future.
“Giving players control over their visibility, and how open they are to a move, means clubs and players reach a meaningful conversation much quicker,” he said.
“Players also stay hidden from their own club, which makes everyone more comfortable. Online recruitment is becoming mainstream, and ClubScout makes that shift feel natural for players and clubs. It’s something football has needed for a long time.”
The third co-founder, Jackson Starcevich, has spent more than a decade in local and state league football and saw firsthand the opportunity to make recruitment simpler and fairer. That experience became the catalyst for ClubScout, which he has driven from concept to launch.
Built by a family that has lived football from local grounds to the AFL and AFLW’s biggest stages, ClubScout aims to reach players and clubs in every state and territory and become the nation’s primary community footy recruitment platform.
For more information, visit ClubScout.com.au
