IN THE biggest turf war since the Fibros versus the Silvertails, the Sydney Roosters stand accused of muscling in on the junior talent of Wests Tigers by trying to establish a presence in the heart of Magpies territory.

The Roosters want to set up a leagues club at Narellan. The move has been described as a blatant attempt to poach talent from one of rugby league's largest nurseries.

Kevin Hammond, the chairman/general manager of the Western Suburbs Magpies, said the Roosters would be met with "every bit of resistance we can provide" in a battle to protect their future NRL stars.

"We're used to dealing with the Roosters and other clubs who come in and offer ridiculous sums of money to entice our junior players away from their area," Hammond said last night.

"It's no secret the Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club is progressing an opportunity to establish a licensed club in the Harrington Park-Narellan area.

"We will protect what is rightfully ours. It isn't going to distract us from our core priority and responsibility - promoting rugby league in our area with a view to our players progressing to play first grade with Wests Tigers."

Western Suburbs have forged strong links with Group 6 and other neighbouring nurseries in the district.

The region has developed an impressive crop of players who have gone on to play NRL for the Tigers, including Brett Hodgson, Liam Fulton, Bryce Gibbs, Shannon McDonnell, Beau Ryan, , Stuart Flanagan, Rocky Trimarchi and John Skandalis.

The new feud is not dissimilar to the Magpies's traditional battles with their old foes, Manly. The Sea Eagles, dubbed the Silvertails after poaching the likes of John Dorahy, Les Boyd, Ray Brown and David Gillespie from the Fibros, engaged in a football rivalry which turned into a war about class and politics.

"You can buy the body, you can't buy loyalty," Hammond said. "That's something Western Suburbs is built upon, loyalty. We're loyal to our junior league and our players - money can't buy that.

"The Roosters will go out and spend an inordinate amount of money to purchase players from wherever they can find them. It just means that if they establish a leagues club in Narellan they are doing it from there instead of Bondi Junction."

Ironically, the two clubs have worked together on a number of initiatives this season. They joined forces to entertain corporate guests at ANZ Stadium during Origin and to promote their fixtures this season.

Roosters CEO Brian Canavan was last night unavailable for comment.