The Burnie Football Club has informed AFL Tasmania it may not be able to field a team in the statewide league this season.
It follows Devonport's withdrawal from the Tasmanian State League (TSL) in December.
The club is citing a lack of players and doubt over its ability to field both a TSL senior team, as well as a Development League team.
President Steve Dowling said the club was in a strong off-field position, but only a handful of players had returned to training after Christmas.
"In the last session before Christmas, there was 29 and four injuries, so 33," he said.
"Since the resumption, it's been maybe 12 to 15 which is not enough. We're just not getting consistency with them returning."
Burnie had expected to recruit several Devonport players after the Magpies opted out of the competition, but it had not been the case.
"We've had no retrieval at all from the Devonport area with the demise of Devonport and we've got an extra game in Hobart which has made it more difficult," Dowling said.
Call to arms for more players
The club has issued a call to arms for local players, with a pre-organised function being held on Friday night.
It will let AFL Tasmania know within a 72-hour timeframe whether or not if it would compete next year.
If it is unable to come up with enough players for a senior team, Dowling said he was unable to guarantee the future of the historic club.
"This is the great quandary. It's an institution that's 132 years old and that's won 38 tier-one premierships," he said.
"That's the worst-case scenario."
Cloud over north-west future
The doubts cast serious fears over the health of football on the north-west coast.
If it opts out of the TSL, Burnie would become the second club in just six weeks to drop out of the competition due to a lack of players and would leave the coast without a TSL senior team.
In December, following the initial release of the 2018 fixture, Devonport opted to drop out and instead pour resources into its NWFL teams.
AFL Tasmania boss Robert Auld said the TSL would continue as a seven-team competition if Burnie was to exit, and a return to regional football was not on the table.
"We wouldn't see this as a permanent situation into the future," he said.
"I don't see regional football as the stepping stone to a draft pathway that is going to give our kids the best chance.
"We shouldn't lose sight that there are seven other clubs right now that are working really hard to put the best teams in the state on the park for the 2018 season."
A second coastal team dropping out of the competition would leave just two Launceston-based teams to service the entire north and north-west.
A third fixture would also need to be drawn up, with round one only two months away.
