“If we don’t make changes, we’ll die,’’ Mr Smith said.

He said Groups Two and Three need to consider a premier league-type competition, probably involving clubs from Forster-Tuncurry to Coffs Harbour. This would only include two clubs from the Manning – Wingham and a merged Taree-Old Bar.

“We have too many clubs on the Manning and that’s why they're struggling to be competitive,’’ he said.

Mr Smith pointed out that minor premiers in all four Group Three grades are from either Port City or Port Macquarie this year. Northern clubs have dominated Group Three since Taree City’s triple crown in 2007. Forster-Tuncurry in 2011 is the only southern club to win a premiership since.

Mr Smith believes an under 20 competition should replace the current under 18.5s, while women’s league tag should give way to tackle football.

“League tag has been great for our competition,’’ he said.

“But there’s no pathways for players – it’s all heading towards tackle football.’’

Mr Smith said reserve grade is ‘past its use-by date.’

Clubs, with the exception of Port Macquarie and Port City, are struggling to get commitment from reserve graders, he claimed.

He added that some of the first grade scorelines in recent weeks – Forster-Tuncurry beaten 90-0 by Port Macquarie and 60-6 by Wauchope and Taree City’s 70-0 loss to Port City are a turnoff for spectators. He said if clubs can’t attract paying customers through the gate, they can’t make money.

Problems aren’t just in the south, with Macleay Valley experiencing a horror year in 2018 where the club was forced to withdraw from first and reserve grades. (See page 22). The concept of a Mid North Coast competition covering the area from Forster-Tuncurry to Coffs Harbour has been floated in the past, with increased travel usually cited as the main disadvantage. However, Mr Smith believes that with the highway improvements now just about complete, this is no longer a major issue.

However, he added there would need to be some type of secondary competition in place for smaller clubs not wouldn't be suited to a premier league. He cited the loss of clubs in the years following the merger of the then Group Three Saturday League with Forster-Tuncurry, Wingham and South Taree to form a revamped Group Three in 1995. This initially made a 12 team first grade premiership that included two clubs at Forster-Tuncurry, two in Wingham while Old Bar, Taree, Taree South and Cundletown all fielded sides as did Harrington, Wallamba and Gloucester. By 2002 half of those clubs had gone for varying reasons, although Gloucester now plays in the Lower Hunter League.

“The problem was there was nowhere else for them to go because we didn’t have a competition for them,’’ he said.

Two Grafton clubs currently play in Group Two although Mr Smith has heard whispers that they could be looking to back move to the Northern Rivers Rugby League. Mr Smith said the Country Rugby League will only act on boundary issues if there is a problem. He says it's about time the CRL again looks at the Mid North Coast.