SOUTH-WEST football league chiefs are concerned that a new clearance and registration system will put club administrators under more pressure.
Hampden league general manager Michael Harrison and Warrnambool and District league president Justin Balmer yesterday agreed that the new system put the onus on club officials to register and clear players.
The clearance changes are likely to revolutionise the movement of players between clubs with the "required player" argument no longer applying.
Clubs now must approve or refuse clearances within just six working days.
A clearance can only be refused if a player is contracted, the player owes the club more than $100, is in possession of club property, such as a jumper, or the player wishes to withdraw a transfer application.
Victorian Country Football League regional manager Brett Anderson said efforts had been made to streamline the clearance system in recent years.
"Under the new system not really that much has changed," he said.
"This system was almost in place during the past couple of years without being formally adopted.
"The old system was almost cumbersome. I can see there will be more players on contracts although there is a limit to the number of two-year contracts a club can have."
Anderson said country leagues close to metropolitan Melbourne had been using the system for the past three years.
"We've found it very good. It stopped infighting between clubs and freed up players not getting a game to go where they could," he said.
"In the past, 98 per cent of clearances put in get through if they are followed through by a player. There was a hell of a lot of work and time spent on that other two per cent of players."
Anderson said the clearance system was expected to free up the time of club administrators.
He said an appeal process was still in place involving an area appeals committee