The news comes after the 2008 season was one of the most successful in recent times, but officials from both clubs said they wouldn’t rule out a return after walking away from the NESL in February.

The main reason for the return to an all-Griffith competition was a lack of players and commitment to the six-hour round trip for away games in Shepparton and Tatura.

But an ambitious NESL proposal to bring the teams back might be the best fit for the Griffith numbers, while also stimulating men’s division one.

Yoogali president Paul Fisher said while not speaking on behalf of his players, the club itself would be open to the idea of returning a senior men’s team to the North Eastern league.

“We would look at a proposal if the North Eastern league put one to us,” Fisher said. “Right now we do have a young squad and we would have to be competitive if we went back.

“You can’t travel down to Victoria week after week to be demoralised.”

Hanwood president Anthony Agresta said fielding just the men’s seniors in the North Eastern league would be a better fit than finding numbers for multiple teams.

“Filling firsts, reserves and under-17s was getting hard and that’s where we fell down,” Agresta said.

“If it was only one team it would be easier. We’ll discuss any proposal, we’re open to the idea (of coming back).”

Rather than the entire clubs returning, a senior men’s team each from Hanwood and Yoogali would fill the holes in the men’s league fixture left by Kyabram and Numurkah, whose top senior sides play in division two.

Men’s division one in the NESL was riddled with byes this season, with the competition suffering the double whammy of losing the challenging Griffith opposition as well as having games surrounded by regular weeks off.

Two teams, Kyabram and Numurkah, do not field sides in men’s division one; with Hanwood to possibly follow the fixture of one team and Yoogali the other.

The NESL will hold its annual meeting in late November, with clubs expected to vote to see if they would allow the Griffith clubs to return if they so choose, with only a 50 per cent majority required to allow the change to go through.