The club was founded for the 2006 American National Rugby League season by Drew Slover and Australian Daryl Howland after the state of Florida (where both individuals resided) had no representation in the top level rugby league competition in the USA. After becoming the first AMNRL club to come from the southern state the Axemen had an impressive debut season finishing in the top six and qualifying for the playoffs; however they would eventually be knocked out by the New Jersey Sharks. In their first 5 years of operations, the Axemen made AMNRL playoffs, 4 times, with two trips to the title game and one national championship title.