On July 4, 1996, Victorian football suffered a huge upset when the club merged with the Brisbane Bears to form the Brisbane Lions.

More than a decade later, Fitzroy Reds President Craig Little said his club was wasting the legacy of the Fitzroy name, which should be used to lift the flagging side and broaden club support.

“It has to happen,” Little said.  “If it doesn’t, I’m not going to continue banging my head against the wall trying to run (the Reds).”

Fitzroy Football Club still has about 1200 paid members and mainly fundraises for the Reds, but the club also advocates the continued presence of Fitzroy within the Brisbane Lions.

But Little doesn’t underestimate the pride locals continue to feel for the club.

“We’re sitting on one of the most famous brands in football,” he said.  “There’s still a lot of goodwill towards the club, particularly around the inner city, and it ties in with that hotel culture – you see it at the Napier, you see it at the Union Club, and you see it at the Standard.”

Little’s plan is simple.  The Fitzroy Reds seniors, reserves, juniors and under-19’s teams would be re-branded as the Fitzroy Football club, while the “club 18”social side would play under the Reds banner.  The “heritage” maroon jumper would be reintroduced, and the club would become more community-based, fund-raising for charity and hosting functions at the Brunswick Street oval.

Little had been prepared to put his presidency on the line in his bid to re-brand the club, but it appears that won’t be necessary.  Last Tuesday, he took the proposal to the Reds hierarchy, and the response was positive.

“What we’ll be doing is speaking to the ‘Old Redders’ about it at their annual Anzac Day Eve Dinner, and then it’ll simply be a matter of passing it as a motion at the April 30 committee meeting,” he said.