Ward and other members of the working party entrusted with the review will conduct the first of the club interviews next week.

This is the next stage of consultation with clubs, leagues and umpiring bodies and follows a survey which has been distributed across the region.

Ward rubbished any talk that there is fixed ideas on how potential restructures of the region’s leagues might look.

“It would be ludicrous to even suggest there would be any predetermined outcomes,” Ward told The Courier.

“We are investing over this process over 800 man hours. And I think that would be a pretty significant waste of already-stretched resources if there were predetermined outcomes.”

Clunes, Skipton, East Point, Ballarat and Learmonth will be the first of the clubs interviewed next Tuesday.

“There is three stages of consultation. One is the survey, two is the interviews and then after the draft report is made and there’s any initial recommendations, clubs and leagues will have another opportunity to provide some feedback on that,” Ward said.

“The one thing we’ve been very determined (to do) is to ensure that people will not be able to say there was a lack of consultation because there will be three stages.”

Ward said the consultation process is an important one.

“We are determined to get this right,” he said.

“The feedback to us has been that if leagues stay in their current structures, that some clubs will find it very difficult to have a sustainable future.

“This is all about sustainable clubs and we really hope clubs embrace – and most have already – the opportunity to have a say in the future structure of football and netball in the region.”

Following the interview process, Ward said the working party will then provide recommendations to the AFL Goldfields commission.

This report is expected before the end of October.