THREE proposed statewide league football clubs, including the Burnie Dockers, have threatened to walk away from the competition unless AFL Tasmania drops its Tasmanian Devils VFL program.

Burnie, which only agreed to the statewide proposal on Tuesday night, Launceston and the Northern Bombers, have urged AFL Tasmania to make a final decision on the Devils' future.

In an email sent to AFL Tasmania general manager Scott Wade yesterday, Launceston president Mark Thurlow said he had spoken to Northern Bombers and Burnie presidents and they had confirmed they would not commit to the statewide league if "a lifeline is thrown to the Devils or they simply continue to exist in 2009".

Thurlow went on to say the email was not an ultimatum or a statement of "them versus us," but what the clubs believed was in the best interests of Tasmanian football.

The future of the Hobart-based Devils has been the subject of intense speculation in recent weeks, particularly in the southern media.

Wade has maintained from the outset if AFL Tasmania could not afford to run both the Devils program and the state league, then the Devils would go.

"I've said all along the state league was our priority and we would prefer to have both, but if we can only afford one, then the Devils will go," Wade said.

Wade met with Devils players last night to inform them a final decision would not be made until the future of the state league was certain.

Thurlow's email said his club believed it was simply not financially viable to have a statewide league and field the Devils team.

"The LFC committee will not place the club into a league that is not financially viable," Thurlow said.

"AFL Tasmania cannot have its cake and eat it too," he said.

"`AFL funds need to start coming into the grass roots of football and be distributed evenly throughout the entire state of Tasmania - the proposed league does just that."

"We all believe someone at AFL Tasmania needs to urgently show some leadership and make a decision so clubs can focus on where they will be headed in 2009, whether it be a state league or in their current competitions," Thurlow said.

Burnie president Shane Walker said there had been a lot of "to and fro" with the Devils.

"What is fairly clear is that the five invited Northern clubs all believe it is not financially viable to have two structures (statewide and the Devils), in which case the Devils have to go," Walker said.