Martin Pike
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| Personal Info | |
|---|---|
| Birth | 14 November 1972, Glenelg, South Australia |
| Recruited from | Norwood FC (SANFL) |
| Height/Weight | 190cm / 92kg |
| Playing Career¹ | |
| Debut | Round 1 27 March 1993, Melbourne FC vs. Hawthorn FC, at Waverley Park |
| Team(s) | Melbourne (1993-1994)
24 games, 25 goals Fitzroy (1995-1996) 36 games, 15 goals North Melbourne (1996-2000) 81 games, 19 goals Brisbane Lions (2001-2005) 106 games, 67 goals |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2005 season | |
| Career Highlights | |
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Martin Pike (born in Glenelg, South Australia on 14 November 1972) is a former Australian Football League player who played with four clubs during 13 seasons. Highlights of his career included a premiership with the Kangaroos, three more with Brisbane, a best-and-fairest win with Fitzroy, and selection in the 1998 South Australian state-of-origin side.
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[edit] Early career
The Melbourne Football Club picked Pike with their first choice (ninth overall) in the 1992 national draft. He played 8 games at centre half-back in his first year in 1993. However, an injury in the earlier part of the season persuaded coach Neil Balme to move him to the forward line. Pike played in three finals in 1994.
Despite his strong on-field performance, Melbourne traded Pike to the Fitzroy Football Club at the end of 1994 due to his off-field problems with alcohol. After playing 14 games in 1995, Pike played all 22 games in 1996 winning the club's best-and-fairest award, beating later Port Adelaide captain Mathew Primus for the honour. However, ongoing financial difficulties led to Fitzroy merging with the then Brisbane Bears to form the Brisbane Lions. Pike was not selected as one of the eight Fitzroy players to move north to Brisbane at the end of 1996, largely due to his poor off-field reputation.
[edit] North Melbourne 1997-2000
Now a free agent, Pike was recruited to join the 1996 premiers, North Melbourne in the 1996 draft. He had a solid year in 1997 as North finished third. South Australia picked him their 1998 State of Origin squad in the following year. Pike was a member of the North Melbourne grand final team that lost to the Adelaide Football Club in the 1998 Grand Final after winning the minor premiership.
Martin Pike was a member of the Kangaroos' premiership winning team in 1999, fulfilling a lifelong ambition. However, he had a poor year in 2000 and North Melbourne de-listed him, in part due to a late arrival at a club function.
[edit] Brisbane Lions 2001-2005
The Brisbane Lions recruited Pike in the 2000 draft after impressing coach Leigh Matthews in an interview, although Pike's reputation was poor enough for Matthews to consult his leading players before committing to the wayward footballer. Pike quickly proved himself at his fourth club, playing 22 games as the club won its first premiership in 2001. Now with family commitments, Pike was a reformed character, with increased professionalism and none of the poor off-field behaviour that had marred his career at his previous clubs.
The Brisbane Lions won their second successive premiership in 2002, with Pike playing a wide variety of roles. He again played a key role in many of the games won in 2003, including kicking three goals in the final quarter of the preliminary final against the Sydney Swans to get the team into its third successive winning grand final.
The Lions reached their fourth successive grand final in 2004, but with injuries to a few key players, lost to Port Adelaide in the grand final. Pike was disappointed with his performance in that match, and was reportedly involved in an altercation with a club official in the early hours of the morning on return to Brisbane, the first and only display of the behaviour which caused him problems before signing with the Lions. Despite resulting speculation that his contract would not be renewed he accepted a one-year contract for 2005. However Pike's season was heavily disrupted by injury and he was unable to add more than a handful of games to his career tally before announcing his retirement on 2 August 2005 with four matches remaining in the regular season.
[edit] After retirement
In February 2006, the Hastings Football Club in the rural Victorian Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League announced that Pike had accepted an offer to coach the club for the upcoming season. He made an appearance in the 2006 AFL Legends Match.
