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. In July 1996 he was found guilty of drink driving for the third time and was fined $1000, lost his licence for five years and sentenced to six months jail, but avoided having to go to jail, being able to serve the sentence at home under a intensive correction order.
Read more about this topic: Martin Pike
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