Don't be nieve, Clubs bring in 15/16 year olds with promises of becoming assets (when they reach 16) and dazzle them with the big bright lights of becoming a professional which in turn the Club gets the value off their Bond Each Season, they then can command Loan fees for their assets all through their career so its in their interests to try bring riders on.
They spent thousands to have Bickley there and that didn't turn out well for them did it as he's not worth anything to them now he s packed in.
As for Cairns, they didn't want him as he wasn't becoming an asset of theirs, he wanted to go there and his connections made it happen.