RUGBY LEAGUE: The decision to suspend Oakey from the TRL for 2017 was not one taken lightly.

"It was a really, really difficult one to make,” TRL treasurer and former Stanthorpe forward Tony Coonan said.

"It is my personal opinion that when a club folds in rugby league it is a failure for all of us, not just the club.”

The Oakey community is answering the club's rallying cry to ensure this season's 50th anniversary will not be its final mention in the TRL history books.

But their fate may lie with a higher power than the Toowoomba governing body.

"It is at a stage where it is potentially a QRL decision and not a TRL one as to whether they can stay in the competition,” Coonan said.

The Bears owe a substantial sum of money to the board, but a lack of players this season meant a number of them were forced to double up in both the reserve and A-grades, attracting the QRL's attention.

"If we stand back and do nothing we will be accountable for not showing diligence as a governing body because you can't just let clubs continue to get themselves further in debt,” Coonan said.

"There were way too many guys playing a full game of reserve grade and playing A-grade too and that is a huge welfare concern in a contact sport especially when you're getting head knocks because it's a contact sport.

"It is okay when it is a few of your fittest players but not when it's most of your team.”

Despite the current uncertainty, Coonan said the TRL was preparing for next weekend's AGM under the guise that there would be 11 A-grade teams next year.

The Bears will again be fighting their case at the meeting. One option could be for Oakey to field just under-18 and C-grade sides to avoid the high player payments of A-grade competition.