Deniliquin have withdrawn from the second grade competition, which will now allow for a bye throughout the season.

However the women's draw is yet to be finalised after Tumut could not commit to having a side.

Southern Inland rugby manager Jack Heffernan is waiting on feedback on clubs before confirming what to do.

"It's a work in progress for the next day or so," Heffernan said.

The third grade draw is yet to be locked in however it is anticipated to involve five teams, the four Wagga clubs and Griffith.

However Heffernan ruled out changes to the first grade draw, which features more byes than the other grades.

"Nine (clubs) is the same as 10 really in that you still have 18 weeks of football," he said.

"So it did cross my mind but I realised it wouldn't make much difference.

"First grade is in a good spot and it means I can do some stuff with third grade and women's as there is now a general club bye those weeks against Deni now rather than having teams every week.

"It can work positively."

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Southern Inland were also looking to reintroduce an underage side to their Saturday schedule.

The plan was to have an under 18s competition aligned with the junior clubs but played alongside the seniors however there weren't enough player numbers to sustain a season.

"We did a ring around last week and every club was in the same scenario - they had six or seven at the most," Heffernan said.

"Even if we wanted to play sevens or 10s we weren't going to get week-in, week-out numbers."

Instead players will take part in third grade or second grade.

Deniliquin and Leeton are looking to create a relationship to allow the Drovers to still have some presence in the competition.

There are even talks of playing games in Deniliquin throughout the year, however it is not a priority to be locked in at this stage.

Southern Inland have also developed a plan if COVID creates player shortages this season.

Albury have been heavily impacted by border closures in the past two seasons and it has given the competition plenty of experience.

Heffernan is looking to take a different approach this season.

"We've got very clear rules out about how we are approaching it this year so we aren't making decisions on the fly," he said. "If you don't have numbers you forfeit.

"It makes it easier rather than having to go back and forth depending on the scenario."

Clubs will be required to fill to the top with forfeits from the lowest grades first.

Southern Inland's season gets under way on Saturday with Tumut hosting Waratahs, Leeton will make their return to first grade against CSU in Wagga, Wagga City hosts Ag College while Albury travels to Griffith.

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