AFL Tasmania chief executive Robert Auld and Tasmanian Football Council general manager Jackson Hills met with NEFU president Kurt Wagner and club representatives at Aurora Stadium on Thursday night.

The league consists of four clubs in Winnaleah, Scottsdale Crows, Bridport and East Coast Swans but it is understood that two of those clubs have applied to join the NTFA next season leaving the competition’s future in the balance.

“We’ve learnt that the four clubs and the league have been working through a process for their future and part of that has been looking at options in the North for some of the clubs,” TFC general manager Jackson Hills said after the meeting.

“Some of their clubs have independently applied to join the NTFA and  that is a process that must run its course and we need to respect that and we understand that will come to some sort of conclusion toward the end of October.”

Hills said AFL Tasmania was genuinely concerned about working through these issues with the NEFU clubs and of high priority was ensuring the future of junior football in the area.

“Once the NTFA’s decision is known we are going to reconvene our meeting with the NEFU group again at the end of October because regardless of that outcome we still have a big focus on what happens with junior footy on the coast and what happens with senior footy as well and how we move forward,” he said.

“From our point of view from the numbers we’ve crunched and recently discussed at the Future of Football Forum – our junior football program for the next five or ten years is so important.

“There are a lot of juniors on the coast playing footy and we are really concerned about the model for juniors up there. We agreed to go away and look at the numbers of junior participation on the North coast and come up with some options.

“We agreed to explore with the blessing of the four clubs some concepts as to how they might be secured for the future and that might look at bit different in the future in terms or sides coming together but we will present those at our next meeting at the end of October.

“That’s one part of it looking at junior models for the future – with the senior footy for us it is hard to know until we know the outcome of  the NTFA process.

“But whichever decision is taken by them by the NTFA we will continue to work with the league and the remaining clubs about where they play their football as well.”

Hills said AFL Tasmania was concerned about the future of the NEFU and the danger that the competition could fold.if the two clubs that had applied to join the NTFA were successful.

“The other two clubs are waiting to see the outcome of that process as well but we’ll get back together with all four clubs and the league at the end of October and decide on the future for 2017.”