James, who took over from long-time official Tony Saunders in October, cited travel and the out-of-hours workload as the reasons behind his decision.

James has been commuting from Myrtleford and was earlier this month involved in a car accident on the Yackandandah-Myrtleford Road.

“We will re-advertise with emphasis to find someone local,” league general manager Tom O’Connor said yesterday.

“Obviously the league is keen to appoint someone swiftly with the pending start of the season.”

James previously worked at the Wangaratta-based North East Football-Netball hub.

All operational issues are to be directed through O’Connor until the league finds a replacement for James.