The start of the club rugby league season is in serious doubt, with the Bay of Plenty district rugby league board holding a meeting in Rotorua tonight to consider kicking the two Coastline teams out of their competition.
The two rugby league zones appear to be at loggerheads and if it isn't resolved soon, Upper Central Zone - the governing body for New Zealand Rugby League - may step in and take over.
Bay of Plenty district rugby league chairman Bill Liddell said yesterday the board would hold a meeting tonight at the Puketawhero Park clubrooms to discuss removing both Tauranga teams from the regional zone competition.
Over the past couple of seasons Otumoetai Eels and Tauranga Whalers have taken part in the Bay of Plenty competition, which is a precursor to the inter-zonal club championship fought out between Bay of Plenty, Coastline and Waikato clubs, known as WaiCoa Bays premier competition.
Liddell said it was becoming unworkable to have teams from outside of the zone competing and the board was now at the stage of focusing on their own clubs.
"The competition that [Coastline teams] played in last year was a Bay of Plenty competition and we allowed them to play in it.
"We've had problems with them every time we've had dealings with them and last year our board decided not to include them in our competition.
"They then went to [Upper Central Zone], we had a meeting with Coastline and us and came up with this system that allowed Coastline to affiliate with us," Liddell said.
"We have since discovered that we were wrongly advised - we can't have them affiliated with us because in our constitution it says 'clubs are within the boundaries of Bay of Plenty as defined by New Zealand Rugby League,' and they're outside our boundary."
In the early 1990s, league clubs from Western Bay of Plenty and Whakatane broke away from the Bay of Plenty Rugby district and formed their own zone known as Coastline.
Currently there are only two league teams playing from Coastline in the Bay of Plenty competition, Otumoetai Eels and Whalers, with five Bay of Plenty teams involved - Ngongotaha, Pikiao, Pacific, Central and Taupo.
Otumoetai-based Eels made the semifinals of the WaiCoaBays competition last year but angered the Bay of Plenty board by pulling out of the end-of-season Bay of Plenty championship, won by Whalers.
The competition was expected to kick off on April 14 but with the removal of the two clubs that could be jeopardised, Liddell said.
"Whether that will actually happen or not I'm not too sure... we will have to sort all that out [tonight]."
Liddell said the Bay of Plenty clubs hadn't been informed of the situation at this stage.
A spokesman for the Coastline board, when asked for comment, directed enquiries to the Tauranga-based Upper Central Rugby League.
It is understood Coastline were aware Bay of Plenty were looking to remove their teams from the competition and had contacted Upper Central zone to help resolve the situation.
Liddell was unaware that Upper Cental zone had now become involved in the situation.
Upper Central general manager Marcus Reynolds said New Zealand Rugby League and his zone were aware of what was going on and hoped the two parties could find a solution without the governing body getting involved.
Reynolds said a five-year agreement between Bay of Plenty and Coastline had been signed to let Coastline teams to play in the Bay competition.
He said Liddell was correct in asserting the contract didn't align with the Bay's constitution.
However, the Upper Central zone was trying to remedy the situation by writing up a new participation agreement for both parties.
"The opinion of the Upper Central zone and NZRL is that Bay of Plenty and Coastline should continue with a combined competition managed by the Bay of Plenty District Rugby League."
Reynolds said he hoped the two parties could resolve the situation without the help of the Upper Central Zone.
"The Upper Central zone will step in if it feels that the parties are not acting in the best interests of rugby league, not just for 2012 but for the next three to five years," Reynolds said.
"Decision makers need to ask themselves what their clubs want and the message we are receiving at zonal level is that the clubs want the combined competition."
Reynolds said if the zone had to step in he was confident the competition would go ahead on April 14.