Just as many others in the region had done in years before, the rivals made the tough decision to merge prior to the 2001 season, a move which has held the Warrack Eagles in good stead to this day.

It was at the end of the 2000 season when talks between then Warrack Lions and Brim Eagles got underway.

"Talks first started at the end of 2000, and things got serious about a potential merger in about February 2001," Warrack Lions president in 2000 and 2001 Adrian Bibby said.

"I remember it was left quite late, and as it panned out we merged prior to the season to become the Warrack Eagles for 2001."

The Warrack Eagles entered into the Wimmera Football League for the 2001 season.

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Mr Bibby said the push to bring the two clubs together was largely player driven, with a decline of numbers the key reason behind the merge.

"Almost all of the players from both clubs came out of the same area. Both clubs were starting to struggle to put four senior teams on the park each week," he said.

"It just made sense. I think in general those closest to both clubs understood something like this was inevitable.

"There was, and I think it's fair to say still is, some people who are still staunch supporters of both clubs who wanted it to stay like that forever, but it just wasn't possible."

Fraser Quick was the Brim coach at the time of the merger. He said it was tough to make the move away from his club's roots but it was the right call.

"At the time both teams were struggling for numbers. From a Brim side of things we might've been able to hold on for a year or so but not much longer than that," he said.

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"The hardest part of all was leaving that tradition of the old club behind. You think back now and wonder what if, but in the end it was the right call for both clubs."

Quick said getting along with new teammates was quite easy despite the rivalry that existed.

"The transition was fairly smooth since we all knew each other. A lot of guys chopped and changed from Warrack to Brim and Brim to Warrack," he said.

"We didn't play against each other because we were in different leagues but we still had that underlying rivalry."

Despite many clubs opting for the double barreled name approach when merging clubs, Minyip-Murtoa for example, Warrack Eagles took a different approach with their name.

"We had lots of discussion about that. There was a strong feeling we needed to create a new identity while keeping some of the old heritage too," Mr Bibby said.

"Nearly 20 years on we have a generation which knows nothing other than Warrack Eagles, something they can call their own.

"There was the Brim Eagles and Warrack Lions so we just kept part of each."

Mr Bibby said the jumper decision was easier.

"We both wore maroon and gold and since we kept the Eagles in the name it made sense to use that on the jumper," he said.

"It's a bit unique and something we felt was a good thing moving forward."

Brim's Graham Atkin served as the new club's first president, with Mr Bibby taking over in 2002.

"We had an agreement he would do one year and I'd do the next," Bibby said.

"We pretty much paper, scissors, rocked it to decide who went first."

It didn't take long for the new club to enjoy a taste of success, winning the 2002 Wimmera Football League senior premiership.

Quick was a joint coach of the premiership side and said it was a game to remember.

"Even now, looking back nearly 20 years, it was fairly special to share that with a lot of local guys," he said.

"Just the atmosphere, I have never seen so many people at a country game before.

"Beating reigning premiers and red hot favourites Ararat made it even better.

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"We kicked 12.31 (103) to their 13.10 (88), I will never forget that scoreline. We kicked 12 points in a row at one stage so it's pretty remarkable how we were able to come back and win."

Mr Bibby said the premiership victory - the club's only senior football flag since merging - was "a great way to bond as a new club". "Certainly in those first few years our supporter base was huge, it was a great time to be around the club," he said.

Despite failing to win another senior premiership in the time since, the Eagles became dominant forces elsewhere, particularly on the netball court during the 2000s.

Mr Bibby, who served as president last year, said things "are still quite positive" nearly 20 years on from the merger.

"The issues all clubs are facing are the same now as it was back then," he said.

"Small towns are getting smaller - it is just a numbers game.

"Nowadays we have more people travelling back to play and like most small clubs have a focus on getting ex locals back to the region."

Quick said he does not get to as many games as he would like to, but is confident the Warracknabeal and Brim communities will continue to support the club.

"Both towns have huge passion for all sport and I'm sure they will help push the Eagles on into the future."

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