Touted as a half-back player, he fulfilled that role for the Tigers, though not too impressively.
By that time, Funcke was a tagger/run-with player and he was utilised accordingly in his debut season with Melbourne in 2001.
He was retained in the side for the rest of the season, but in 2002 he had a poor year and was finally delisted.
Funcke carved out a career with the Port Adelaide Magpies in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) once his AFL career ended, and he became a valuable player for the club.
This Australian rules football biography of a person born in the 1970s is a stub.