Senior Dayne Zorko (2011-)
- Thread starter Hollow Knight
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Sam Gibson.
BlackCaviar
All Australian
what a find 
hope he keeps it going next year
hope he keeps it going next year
whatboutbob
Serial Avatar Troll
By my reckoning if he'd played the whole year and maintained his average he'd have won the B+F. Fair effort. 
Hollow Knight
Imperfect vessel
- May 3, 2005
- 96,485
- 106,670
- AFL Club
- Brisbane Lions
- Other Teams
- Scuderia Ferrari, Dallas Cowboys
- Thread starter
- #285
Ah well. Being continually underrated seems par for the course for Tink's career so far. At least we know how good he is.
PattyKwasagun
Norm Smith Medallist
I reckon it's a result of the general footy talk being all about Cameron. There was a bit about Zorko, but the honest truth is that most players don't watch that much footy, so when voting would've just gone for who they'd heard the most about.
Zorko will win his fair share of awards, I believe.
Zorko will win his fair share of awards, I believe.
Finding Zorko
09 Oct, 2012
09 Oct, 2012
At this time last year, the Brisbane Lions struck a deal with the Gold Coast Suns that saw 22 year-old local product Dayne Zorko finally get his chance at an AFL career.
Zorko had been dominating the State League competition since he was a teenager, and might never have been exposed to the elite level had the Lions not pounced when they did.
It's been 12 months since, and the early indication is that his recruitment will prove a resounding success for the Club. Lions Assistant Coach Adrian Fletcher believes the number of recent mature-age success stories has made clubs more inclined to offer ‘second chances’ to players from local leagues.
“You need to look everywhere,” Fletcher said.
iBeng
Intentionally left blank
- Apr 3, 2012
- 58,148
- 66,409
- AFL Club
- Brisbane Lions
He wasnt as hard as finding Neemo...
Dayne Zorko 2012 End of Season Review
by IanHaso84
Senior games: 16
Goals: 16
Dreamteam: 1515
Supercoach: 1600
Club Best and Fairest votes: 25 (=7th)
Image (2012 preseason) courtesy of Mr Ripper
The Zork
Dayne was on-traded to the Lions (along with pick 47) from the Suns for picks 34 and 50 in a three way deal that drew Warnock to the Suns. It almost seemed like a secondary deal in the main 'Warnock to Suns' event, and while some die-hard fans and NEAFL regulars were ecstatic, the majority of Lions supporters were left wondering: who is Dayne Zorko?
Well.
Just the captain of the Broadbeach Cats and the winner of their last 4 Best and Fairest awards. Just the guy who was spotted by recruiters in the QLD team single handedly pulling the Scorpions nearly over the line against WA in 2011 in a 35 possession, 4 goal (3 in the final quarter) effort. Just the guy who had kicked 12 goals against the Western Magpies the previous year. Just the guy who had dominated the NEAFL since he was 18. It seemed that we had a livewire on our hands. He could end up being more than just an awesome name, we thought.
He was described as a true small onballer and forward in the classic rover mould with pace, skill and endurance. He would end up being our shortest player, and we had visions of him dominating the forward line with Todd Banfield like twin lightning strikes.
Unfortunately the lightning was forced to wait for a bit, as he was struck down with a persistent hip problem in the early new year period. His recovery period would last him until Round 6 against Morningside, where he played as though he had not had a break at all, accumulating 32 touches, 2 goals, and registering 12 tackles in a very wet match. Rather than stewing further in the reserves for a few weeks, he was pushed straight into the seniors for a Round 7 debut. After auspicious beginnings as the sub in a losing side against Collingwood, Zorko's stocks continued to rise through the season.
Dayne immediately played like an experienced campaigner, starting with impressive performances against GWS and and Roos. Chipping in with an average of a goal a game and racking up an average of 6.4 tackles and 19.6 possessions per match, Dayne did not dwell on on the fringes of the Lions, but he cemented his spot in the line up almost immediately and formed a dangerous partnership in the forwardline with our own red poodle Josh Green.
At this time he started gaining a reasonable amount of attention in both the Queensland and national sporting media. He was our local boy who had been over looked for so long, but was now flourishing after finally being given a chance at the elite level. It was at this time that The Zork also started referring to himself in the third person. We didn't mind though. But why had he been overlooked for so long? The rumour initially was that he was 'undiciplined', in a fitness context, which was taken in a 'party boy' context by some commentators for a number of weeks. Dayne himself cleared things up eventually by refuting these claims and pointing out that it was actually his height that had mostly held him back, and that his 2011 preseason had set him up fitness-wise to lift to the next level.
Far from a downhill skier, arguably Dayne's two best performances were during losses to the eventual Grand Finalists Hawthorn and Sydney. His stats included 24 disposals, 3 goals, 7 tackles, and 31 disposals, 8 tackles respectively, with 140 dreamteam points in each. The fact that he seems to excel against the toughest opponents should not be surprising, as Dayne revealed part-way through the season that he meaures his own performance not on possessions or goals, but by the number of tackles and pressure acts that he generates. On this criteria he has had a remarkable season, and the club thinks so too, reflected in his 25 best and fairest votes from just 16 games, leaving him equal 7th in the Merrett-Murray count, and putting him well incontention to take out the award if he had played the full season. A remarkable achievement for a first year player, which earned him the Lions 2012 Rookie of the Year award.
Given all of these wonderful points, it is hard to find a knock on Dayne, who appears to tick all of the boxes, especially for a player who has been on our list for such a short length of time. One point is that his disposal into the 50 was occasionally rushed, resulting in long floating bombs. It is possible that this is a result of the faster game play in the seniors, and should be ironed out in time. Another area in which Dayne has fallen short in is the 'height' stakes. He will need to work on that in the coming seasons.
So where to next season? Contrary to his various nicknames in the press (Zorko the Magician, Zorko the Magnificant, etc) his onfield success is not effortless and mercurial, but hard fought and well earned, which should ensure further improvement in the coming seasons. Dayne joins a list of current Lions who have been given a chance by the club when overlooked by others and look to be working to pay back the faith as a Lion for Life, in the mould of Rockliff and Patfull.
by IanHaso84
Senior games: 16
Goals: 16
Dreamteam: 1515
Supercoach: 1600
Club Best and Fairest votes: 25 (=7th)
Image (2012 preseason) courtesy of Mr Ripper
The Zork
Dayne was on-traded to the Lions (along with pick 47) from the Suns for picks 34 and 50 in a three way deal that drew Warnock to the Suns. It almost seemed like a secondary deal in the main 'Warnock to Suns' event, and while some die-hard fans and NEAFL regulars were ecstatic, the majority of Lions supporters were left wondering: who is Dayne Zorko?
Well.
Just the captain of the Broadbeach Cats and the winner of their last 4 Best and Fairest awards. Just the guy who was spotted by recruiters in the QLD team single handedly pulling the Scorpions nearly over the line against WA in 2011 in a 35 possession, 4 goal (3 in the final quarter) effort. Just the guy who had kicked 12 goals against the Western Magpies the previous year. Just the guy who had dominated the NEAFL since he was 18. It seemed that we had a livewire on our hands. He could end up being more than just an awesome name, we thought.
He was described as a true small onballer and forward in the classic rover mould with pace, skill and endurance. He would end up being our shortest player, and we had visions of him dominating the forward line with Todd Banfield like twin lightning strikes.
Unfortunately the lightning was forced to wait for a bit, as he was struck down with a persistent hip problem in the early new year period. His recovery period would last him until Round 6 against Morningside, where he played as though he had not had a break at all, accumulating 32 touches, 2 goals, and registering 12 tackles in a very wet match. Rather than stewing further in the reserves for a few weeks, he was pushed straight into the seniors for a Round 7 debut. After auspicious beginnings as the sub in a losing side against Collingwood, Zorko's stocks continued to rise through the season.
Dayne immediately played like an experienced campaigner, starting with impressive performances against GWS and and Roos. Chipping in with an average of a goal a game and racking up an average of 6.4 tackles and 19.6 possessions per match, Dayne did not dwell on on the fringes of the Lions, but he cemented his spot in the line up almost immediately and formed a dangerous partnership in the forwardline with our own red poodle Josh Green.
At this time he started gaining a reasonable amount of attention in both the Queensland and national sporting media. He was our local boy who had been over looked for so long, but was now flourishing after finally being given a chance at the elite level. It was at this time that The Zork also started referring to himself in the third person. We didn't mind though. But why had he been overlooked for so long? The rumour initially was that he was 'undiciplined', in a fitness context, which was taken in a 'party boy' context by some commentators for a number of weeks. Dayne himself cleared things up eventually by refuting these claims and pointing out that it was actually his height that had mostly held him back, and that his 2011 preseason had set him up fitness-wise to lift to the next level.
Far from a downhill skier, arguably Dayne's two best performances were during losses to the eventual Grand Finalists Hawthorn and Sydney. His stats included 24 disposals, 3 goals, 7 tackles, and 31 disposals, 8 tackles respectively, with 140 dreamteam points in each. The fact that he seems to excel against the toughest opponents should not be surprising, as Dayne revealed part-way through the season that he meaures his own performance not on possessions or goals, but by the number of tackles and pressure acts that he generates. On this criteria he has had a remarkable season, and the club thinks so too, reflected in his 25 best and fairest votes from just 16 games, leaving him equal 7th in the Merrett-Murray count, and putting him well incontention to take out the award if he had played the full season. A remarkable achievement for a first year player, which earned him the Lions 2012 Rookie of the Year award.
Given all of these wonderful points, it is hard to find a knock on Dayne, who appears to tick all of the boxes, especially for a player who has been on our list for such a short length of time. One point is that his disposal into the 50 was occasionally rushed, resulting in long floating bombs. It is possible that this is a result of the faster game play in the seniors, and should be ironed out in time. Another area in which Dayne has fallen short in is the 'height' stakes. He will need to work on that in the coming seasons.
So where to next season? Contrary to his various nicknames in the press (Zorko the Magician, Zorko the Magnificant, etc) his onfield success is not effortless and mercurial, but hard fought and well earned, which should ensure further improvement in the coming seasons. Dayne joins a list of current Lions who have been given a chance by the club when overlooked by others and look to be working to pay back the faith as a Lion for Life, in the mould of Rockliff and Patfull.
iBeng
Intentionally left blank
- Apr 3, 2012
- 58,148
- 66,409
- AFL Club
- Brisbane Lions
Also, Female memberships are up 23%!
Dayne Zorko 2012 End of Season Review
by IanHaso84
Senior games: 16
Goals: 16
Dreamteam: 1515
Supercoach: 1600
Club Best and Fairest votes: 25 (=7th)
Image (2012 preseason) courtesy of Mr Ripper
The Zork
Dayne was on-traded to the Lions (along with pick 47) from the Suns for picks 34 and 50 in a three way deal that drew Warnock to the Suns. It almost seemed like a secondary deal in the main 'Warnock to Suns' event, and while some die-hard fans and NEAFL regulars were ecstatic, the majority of Lions supporters were left wondering: who is Dayne Zorko?
Well.
Just the captain of the Broadbeach Cats and the winner of their last 4 Best and Fairest awards. Just the guy who was spotted by recruiters in the QLD team single handedly pulling the Scorpions nearly over the line against WA in 2011 in a 35 possession, 4 goal (3 in the final quarter) effort. Just the guy who had kicked 12 goals against the Western Magpies the previous year. Just the guy who had dominated the NEAFL since he was 18. It seemed that we had a livewire on our hands. He could end up being more than just an awesome name, we thought.
He was described as a true small onballer and forward in the classic rover mould with pace, skill and endurance. He would end up being our shortest player, and we had visions of him dominating the forward line with Todd Banfield like twin lightning strikes.
Unfortunately the lightning was forced to wait for a bit, as he was struck down with a persistent hip problem in the early new year period. His recovery period would last him until Round 6 against Morningside, where he played as though he had not had a break at all, accumulating 32 touches, 2 goals, and registering 12 tackles in a very wet match. Rather than stewing further in the reserves for a few weeks, he was pushed straight into the seniors for a Round 7 debut. After auspicious beginnings as the sub in a losing side against Collingwood, Zorko's stocks continued to rise through the season.
Dayne immediately played like an experienced campaigner, starting with impressive performances against GWS and and Roos. Chipping in with an average of a goal a game and racking up an average of 6.4 tackles and 19.6 possessions per match, Dayne did not dwell on on the fringes of the Lions, but he cemented his spot in the line up almost immediately and formed a dangerous partnership in the forwardline with our own red poodle Josh Green.
At this time he started gaining a reasonable amount of attention in both the Queensland and national sporting media. He was our local boy who had been over looked for so long, but was now flourishing after finally being given a chance at the elite level. It was at this time that The Zork also started referring to himself in the third person. We didn't mind though. But why had he been overlooked for so long? The rumour initially was that he was 'undiciplined', in a fitness context, which was taken in a 'party boy' context by some commentators for a number of weeks. Dayne himself cleared things up eventually by refuting these claims and pointing out that it was actually his height that had mostly held him back, and that his 2011 preseason had set him up fitness-wise to lift to the next level.
Far from a downhill skier, arguably Dayne's two best performances were during losses to the eventual Grand Finalists Hawthorn and Sydney. His stats included 24 disposals, 3 goals, 7 tackles, and 31 disposals, 8 tackles respectively, with 140 dreamteam points in each. The fact that he seems to excel against the toughest opponents should not be surprising, as Dayne revealed part-way through the season that he meaures his own performance not on possessions or goals, but by the number of tackles and pressure acts that he generates. On this criteria he has had a remarkable season, and the club thinks so too, reflected in his 25 best and fairest votes from just 16 games, leaving him equal 7th in the Merrett-Murray count, and putting him well incontention to take out the award if he had played the full season. A remarkable achievement for a first year player, which earned him the Lions 2012 Rookie of the Year award.
Given all of these wonderful points, it is hard to find a knock on Dayne, who appears to tick all of the boxes, especially for a player who has been on our list for such a short length of time. One point is that his disposal into the 50 was occasionally rushed, resulting in long floating bombs. It is possible that this is a result of the faster game play in the seniors, and should be ironed out in time. Another area in which Dayne has fallen short in is the 'height' stakes. He will need to work on that in the coming seasons.
So where to next season? Contrary to his various nicknames in the press (Zorko the Magician, Zorko the Magnificant, etc) his onfield success is not effortless and mercurial, but hard fought and well earned, which should ensure further improvement in the coming seasons. Dayne joins a list of current Lions who have been given a chance by the club when overlooked by others and look to be working to pay back the faith as a Lion for Life, in the mould of Rockliff and Patfull.
Haso,
this is a great post. Well done, and Im sure Tinka will be even better this year. Will certainly get tagged, but its hard to nullify a guy that has a gut running ability second to none, tackles so much, and has the ability to go 3,4,5, times in a row at the contested ball.Go Tinka.
Grimreepah
BigFooty One Armed Man
Queenslaners who'll make headlines in 2013
47. Dayne Zorko
Zorko plays hard at the ball and was a breath of fresh air for supporters of a club which showed signs of resurgence in 2012. Now a cult figure in the maroon, blue and gold, the nuggety 175cm on-baller is set to be a permanent fixture in the Lions first-grade team.If they're to make the finals in 2013, Dayne Zorko will be a key part of their efforts. The Lions polled a paltry 55 Brownlow votes this year, of which Zorko received six. So, if you're looking for a smokey to finish top 10 next year, it might be time to get on early. Barring injury, we're tipping this man to be a star of the AFL this year.
They can't really put their best tagger on him when Rich is on the park though.
iBeng
Intentionally left blank
- Apr 3, 2012
- 58,148
- 66,409
- AFL Club
- Brisbane Lions
They are going to have to decide between Rich, Zorko and Hanley. Hanley doesnt usually get a mention in the tagging discussions, but hes often one of our most dangerous players.
Hopefully Polec too if he starts cutting it up on the outside.
PattyKwasagun
Norm Smith Medallist
2012 Highlights:
