The current nine-team competition will reduce to eight in two years.

It will effectively make the 2018 season a battle for promotion and relegation.

Football Mid North Coast general manager Bruce Potter said the decision was made to restructure the competition because they wanted to improve their product.

“The general consensus is that the competition is not as strong now as it has been in the past because a 10-team competition stretches the playing talent a bit too far,” he said.

“You want the best standard of competition because we have some of the best players in the zone playing on the Mid-North Coast.

“By having them play against each other it makes it better for everyone.”

Teams aiming to re-join the Premier League would have to effectively win two grand final-like matches.

“The winners of the northern and southern men’s league competitions will play off for the right to re-enter the Premier League,” Potter said.

“To get back in you need to be the strongest team which means you have got to fit a certain criteria.

“That’s the perils of playing in such a large zone where you have both a southern and northern division.”

Port FC are a club likely to be more effected than the current nine teams preparing to start their 2017 seasons.

They will not field a team this season and it appears unlikely they will field one in 2018 which will make their path back to the Premier League a difficult one.

“At the end of the day, a healthy competition is one where you have teams fighting to get back in,” Potter said.

“This way there will always be one or two teams wanting to get back. When you do a change like this it doesn’t hurt to give the clubs as much notice as possible.”

While agreeing in principle to the decision, Port Saints coach John Goodman had a few reservations.

“It’s a good thing because it will mean the talent will be squashed in to fewer teams, but hopefully that doesn’t effect the length of the season,” he said.

“Hopefully they can make it three rounds and not two because 14 rounds will be far too short.

“Players can’t get better if they’re starting in April and finished by August.”

Port United coach Nathan Wade was comfortable with the decision.

“I know what they’re trying to do – and that’s improve the competition, but they need to make it three rounds,” he said.

“It will help get those top level players to a standard where they can progress to Newcastle competitions and it won’t be as much of a jump.”