The league announced late on Wednesday that there would be no senior football or netball for a third successive week.

Luke Brookes, Kade Brown and Tyson Smith all expressed their disapproval of the decision and cited playing matches in NSW as a practical solution.

The trio feared for the long-term ramifications of the league's decision.

Brown revealed three Bulldogs had already approached him about being cleared to the neighbouring Hume league.

"I have spoken to seven coaches who want to play and I haven't heard any say that they don't," Brown said.

"I think the league took the soft option by delaying the season for at least another week.

"To be honest I fear for the future of the competition after this decision.

"You have got some clubs that are really struggling for numbers and could be further decimated as players weigh up their options before the clearance deadline.

"I've already had three players ask for clearances."

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Brown said as coach, it put him in a difficult position whenever a player seeks a clearance.

"Who I am to say no?," he said.

"It's a tough decision, we are in NSW and these guys are allowed to play football.

"Do you stop a bloke from playing football?

"Some blokes rely on football for their mental health and well-being.

"I know the league is in a tough position as well but as I said I think they took the really soft option.

"In my opinion the league is falling behind with the lowest salary cap in the area.

"Players who were on lists last year didn't drop a point like they did in the Hume league.

"I feel the league is just sitting on its hands and watching the competition stagnate and not playing on the weekend is just another nail in the coffin."

Brookes said the league should have followed the precedent of the Ovens and Murray which switched matches to NSW venues this week.

"Rand-Walbundrie-Walla and Brock-Burrum are playing away this weekend so there are five grounds not being used for a start," Brookes said.

"Even in a worse case scenario you could play some matches on a Sunday.

"Whoever's home game it is, make it that club's responsibility to find a ground so the league doesn't have to do it.

"I know it's not a fun position for the league to be in but we have to start being proactive in regards to playing again.

"If we don't the O&M and Hume league clubs will start picking the eyeballs out of our good players and kids and you might not get them back.

"I don't think anyone was surprised by the government's decision on Wednesday and there should have been plans in place to keep the season rolling.

"It's imperative we play next weekend with the clearance deadline looming in two weeks."

Smith said it was frustrating that the league wasn't resuming on the weekend.

"I think the situation we are in could have been avoided," he said.

"The O&M has been really proactive and found a solution on how to play.

"Why couldn't the TDFL do something similar instead of making a rash decision of not playing, that's the disappointing part.

"If it came down to players not getting paid, I couldn't see one player in the league having an issue with that.

"In this situation living on the Border with COVID restrictions is an advantage and we haven't leveraged that."

The Border Mail believes a group of coaches approached the league early in the week in regards to a contingency plan if crowd caps prevented matches being played over the weekend which fell on deaf ears.

League president Rex Gray said time constraints were the biggest hurdle in regards to switching matches to NSW this weekend.

"I understand what some of the coaches are saying," Gray said.

"But it's just not a matter of snapping your fingers and making it happen.

"The league is exploring the option and if the situation in Victoria remains the same we will push hard to start playing matches in NSW.

"But it's not as straightforward as some people would imagine and you have to deal with one thing at a time.

"It was discussed at the league meeting on Wednesday night be we thought time was against us in regards to this weekend."

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