After more than a decade in exile the Boomies were accepted at Sunday’s annual general meeting at Glen Innes and three years after their exclusion the Eels were also welcomed back.

“They (the Boomerangs) have been accepted and so have Narwan,” re-elected Group president Paul Macrae said.

“The Boomerangs came to us with a very solid proposal and we’ll sit down with them and with the Narwan club and address some issues.

“We’ve taken a leaf out of the Northern Rivers competition and the Northern United club. “There have been positive spin-offs and they’ve had a very good competition this year.

“Coupled with other regulations pertaining to our competition in Group 19 we’ve come up with a structure to go forward with.”

The Group has changed its rules to force clubs to play in first grade. No first grade side means no entry to the Group. That means Warialda, Uralla and Bingara must play first grade if they want to play at all in 2010.

Warialda will make the move up to the top grade but Uralla and Bingara are yet to make a decision.

“Warialda has also indicated that it will be competing in first grade,” Macrae said.

“We’ll have eight teams in first grade in 2010 and Bingara and Uralla have two weeks to decide if they want to join us.

“They have no other avenues.

“They haven’t got a path to Group 4.