Bourke is the son of former Geelong captain and ruckman Damian, who played 102 games for the Cats from 1983-92 before moving to the then Brisbane Bears and playing 22 games from 1993-95.
The AFL confirmed on Monday the Lions had received permission to add Bourke to their training group, after the 193cm forward was overlooked in last month's NAB AFL Draft.
Having delisted injury-plagued onballer Callum Bartlett last week (with a view to re-drafting him), the Lions could select Bourke in next Tuesday's pre-season or rookie drafts.
Earlier this year, Geelong obtained AFL permission for Bourke to play two games for its VFL team, but later elected not to nominate him as a father-son selection at October's bid meeting.
As a Queenslander - Bourke was born in Brisbane during his father's stint at the Bears - Bourke was eligible to be signed by Gold Coast as a local zone selection this year, but the Suns also overlooked him.
Bourke played for Morningside in the QAFL this year and represented Queensland in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, playing all five games as a key forward and occasional midfielder.
Nick Bowen is a reporter with AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick
