Royals are set to ignite the John I Dent Cup rivalry before a game has been played, with the Phillip-based club considering legal action against Soakai Tai after their star back-rower defected to the Queanbeyan Whites.
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Royals have flagged the possibility of taking Tai to a small claims tribunal, and club president Darren Goodwin claimed Tai's switch to Queanbeyan could "open a can of worms" for Canberra teams to poach each other's players.
Tai is free to play after the ACT Rugby Union cleared him to suit up for the Whites in their John I Dent Cup season opener against the Gungahlin Eagles on Saturday.
But the Royals board will meet next week to decide whether to take further action against the two-time competition best and fairest winner to seek financial compensation at the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The ACTRU is an amateur competition, but Royals invested in Tai to fund his sporting visas and help him settle in Canberra when they recruited him from Tonga in 2008, as well as providing ongoing support.
It sets the stage for a fiery contest between the Whites and Royals in the second game of the season next weekend.
The Whites have defended Tai's switch to Queanbeyan, saying the powerful forward approached them about changing clubs.
But Goodwin fears it may be the start of John I Dent Cup teams recruiting from their rivals instead targeting players from outside of Canberra.
"We had a meeting about it, we're obviously upset and disappointed to lose such a high profile and skilled player," Goodwin said.
"Our beef is the time, money and effort we placed in bringing Sok over here and him being in Australia for the past six years was due to Royals rugby. We invested in sporting visas and support outside that, helping financially.
"The expectation was that if he was in Canberra he would always play for Royals. We'd never block a player from moving interstate or to higher honours.
"But the expectation was that he wouldn't play against Royals. Sok gave the reasons that he just wanted a change ... I think it's opened a can of worms of recruiting from within.
"In the past players have come to Royals looking for a change, but we've done the courtesy of ringing the other club to see if they can work it out first. It's just disappointing."
Whites coach Adam Fahey rejected any suggestion of underhanded recruitment, and hoped the matter would be finalised to allow his team to focus on its bid for the John I Dent Cup title.
Tai won the MacDougall Medal as the competition's best player in 2008 and 2011 when playing for Royals.
"We did nothing untoward ... I know how hard it is to recruit players," Fahey said.
"We're moving on, we want to play footy and don't want anything off the field. If players want to come to your club for the right reasons, we don't turn those players away."
JOHN I DENT CUP ROUND 1
Saturday: Queanbeyan Whites v Gungahlin Eagles at Campese Field, Uni-Norths Owls v Easts at RMC, Wests v Royals at Radford College. All games at 3.05pm. Tuggeranong Vikings - bye.
