Tristan Lynch is a former Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played with the Brisbane Bears

Brisbane Bears

The Brisbane Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Bears was an Australian rules football club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League . The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995...

, Brisbane Lions

Brisbane Lions

The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...

 and Geelong

Geelong Football Club

The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...

 in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (AFL).

Lynch spent most of his career as a defender but was also used as a tagger on occasions. From Sale, he was initially recruited by Collingwood

Collingwood Football Club

The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

, with pick 85 in the 1992 AFL Draft

1992 AFL Draft

The 1992 AFL Draft is the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League...

, before ending up at Richmond in 1994. He played reserves football with Richmond for two seasons and when the club's senior coach John Northey

John Northey

John "Swooper" Northey is a former Australian rules football player and coach. He played from 1963 to 1970 with the Richmond Football Club....

 resigned and went to the Brisbane Bears in 1996, Lynch joined him.

Aged 22, Lynch made his belated AFL debut in 1996 with the Bears and appeared in all three finals that they played that year, including the preliminary final where he had 16 disposals. Despite finally breaking into the AFL, Lynch was forced to change clubs again when the Bears merged with Fitzroy

Fitzroy Football Club

The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...

. He was a regular fixture in the Brisbane Lions team in 1997 but added further games in 1998. Along with Scott Bamford

Scott Bamford

Scott Bamford is a former Australian Rules Footballer who played for Fitzroy, Brisbane, and Geelong in the Australian Football League and for North Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League.-Fitzroy:...

, Lynch was traded by Brisbane to Geelong after the 1998 season, in return for Martin McKinnon

Martin McKinnon

Martin "Marty" McKinnon is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Adelaide, Geelong and the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League ....

. He was at Geelong for two seasons before being de-listed.