With participation dropping off at a junior level, it's no surprise to NTFA president Scott Rigby that men's senior football is impacted.
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While the competition's women's numbers have blown the association's operations team away, participation for the league's 19 male teams has a question mark hanging over it.
"I think footy is at a crossroads in the men's space in some respects, we've really got to figure out what our identity is," Rigby said.
"So participation numbers have wavered a little bit and there's different reasons for that, our participation has dropped off at a junior level, the support that's been in place, our talent pathways and how that's transpired - especially in the North.
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"It will be really interesting to see how many come back to footy this year."
Rigby's operations team have been in contact with every club since before Christmas and have ramped that up - seeing how numbers look across seniors, reserves and under-18s.
Despite the questions around participation, Rigby said no clubs raised concerns about folding in 2020 and the league actually had several inquiries regarding entrants into the competition.
"A couple of years ago, we set up a strict minimum standard document and club licence agreement and the clubs have to reach the minimum standard to reach that because we want to set a bar," he said.
"That's not just for any new club that may come in but for our own as well. "We've had a couple of inquiries and we will work with them going forwards.
"Part of our job as administrators is what's best for footy, it's not just about shutting the gate, we have to look outside the square and one thing we learned about last year is that we can do something different and make it work.
"I think that's what footy actually needs and I think that we are really taking it by the scruff of the neck in knowing that we have to change to get that."
Joining the old division two competition in 2017, East Coast and Bridport have been the most recent entities accepted into the NTFA while South Launceston's 2014 entry made them the newest premier division club.
Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
