Senior Dayne Zorko (2011-)

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TRAVELLING NO BIG ISSUE SAYS STAR LION
Brisbane midfielder Dayne Zorko says that the constant travel involved with being an AFL player at a non-Victorian club is not a major problem. The in-form Lion says that while the idea of playing close to half of their home-and-away games outside of Queensland is daunting at first, it now forms part of the normal life as an interstate player.

“I was speaking with (fellow Lion) Ryan Lester and said we would have stayed in over probably close to 60 hotels and travelled over 60 times since we both entered the system, so you definitely get used to it,” Zorko told SEN’s The Run Home. “I guess towards the back end of the year it gets a lot tougher, especially for me leaving the young fella at home. “I think once you get older and have been in the system for a long time, you know what to do and how to spend your time away and how to go about it each week.“I guess that’s just the norm now. You play for Brisbane or any interstate club, you do a little bit of travelling and that’s fine.”

However the 28-year-old says that the experience of travelling interstate every fortnight is something that the younger players at the club do take time to get used to. “I think early days it certainly has an effect,” he said.“It’s a whole new experience for the young kids, travelling every second week,” “They’re getting used to it. They’re learning off our older guys and getting tips every week.”
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The Bogeymen: who's coming to get your team in round 18?
Brisbane Lions v Carlton
Dayne Zorko

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The zippy Lion was outstanding against the Blues in round 21 last season, with 27 disposals, five score assists, three goals and 747m gained.

Rating: 6
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Dayne Zorko was back to his exciting best, finishing with 26 disposals and three goals, with most of that damage done in the match-shaping first half. After being kept quiet by taggers twice in the past month, the Blues inexplicably let Lions magician run free, and the little midfielder made them pay. He kicked two goals in the first term, one a brilliant left foot snap from a stoppage and the other on the run from 45m on a tight angle.

Zorko is likely to come under the Match Review Panel microscope though after a punch to the stomach of Lachie Plowman early in the third quarter that left the Blue dry-heaving. He also gave a back-hander to Sam Petrevski-Seton later in the term that seemed to collect the young forward high in a testy quarter.
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Nine things we learned from round 18
8. You must tag Dayne Zorko – no excuses
After he was tagged twice in the past month and kept to five disposals by GWS's Sam Reid and 11 by Richmond's Dion Prestia, Dayne Zorko would have expected a Blues partner to parade him around the Gabba. But much to everyone's surprise – including Zorko's, surely – he was left to roam free by Brendon Bolton's men, and he made them pay. The first quarter produced 11 touches and two goals, and by half-time he had 17 and three and his team had a 53-point lead. The lesson is clear – if you want to slow down the Lions, running with Zorko is a good place to start.
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They piled on six goals, held Carlton goalless and led in disposals (108-64), clearances (11-8) and inside 50s (16-9). It was a clinic and the Gabba was loving every minute.

Leading the way, as ever, was Dayne Zorko. The superstar midfielder had 11 disposals, three clearances and two goals in the opening quarter alone, equating to 65 ranking points in a damaging display. He would finish with 26 disposals and three goals in another best on ground performance.

“We knew Carlton were going to come,” Zorko told Fox Footy after the match. “We thought we might have spent our petrol tickets early on, but to come back the way we did in that last quarter — I thought it was really character building for the group. “To come back, respond and win the game, I’m rapt with the boys’ efforts.”
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Five talking points: Brisbane Lions v Carlton
3. Mixed bag for wilful Zorko
There were questions coming into the match as to whether Brendon Bolton would choose to tag Dayne Zorko, and that was answered a few minutes into the match. After a lean, 11-disposal match against Richmond, Zorko was eyeing off a big game against fellow cellar-dwellers Carlton. Tag-free, he had 17 touches and three goals by half-time and was letting the Blues know about it. But Zorko was angry coming into the second half, needlessly jabbing Lachie Plowman in the stomach right in front of the umpire. While there was no penalty at the time, he later threw an arm back at Sam Petrevski-Seton, giving away a free which turned into a 50-metre penalty as players remonstrated. Zorko finished his eventful match hobbling around with a corked calf, 26 disposals and a cheeky grin.
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MRP Update: Zorko hit with two charges
Brisbane Lions Star midfielder Dayne Zorko has been charged twice by the AFL Match Review Panel after yesterday’s 30-point win over Carlton:

Dayne Zorko, Brisbane Lions, has been charged with striking Lachie Plowman, Carlton, at the start of the third quarter of the Round 18 match between the Brisbane Lions and Carlton, played at the Gabba on Sunday July 23, 2017.

In summary, he can accept a one-match sanction with an early plea.

Based on the available video evidence and a medical report from the Carlton Football Club, the incident was assessed as intentional conduct with medium impact to the body. The incident was classified as a two-match sanction. The player has no applicable record with impacts the penalty. An early plea enables the player to accept a one-match sanction.

Dayne Zorko, Brisbane Lions, has been charged with striking Sam Petrevski-Seton, during the third quarter of the Round 18 match between the Brisbane Lions and Carlton, played at the Gabba on Sunday July 23, 2017.

In summary, he can accept a $1000 sanction with an early plea.

Based on the available video evidence and a medical report from the Carlton Football Club, the incident was assessed as intentional conduct with low impact to the body. The incident was classified as a $1500 sanction. The player has no applicable record which impacts the penalty. An early plea enables the player to accept a $1000 sanction.
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Just so dumb by Zorko on so many levels.:thumbsdown:
 
Lions consider challenge to Zorko ban
THE BRISBANE Lions are considering a Tribunal challenge after midfield star Dayne Zorko was offered a one-match suspension for striking Carlton defender Lachie Plowman.

The Lions were seething at the Match Review Panel's grading of medium impact for the intentional punch and were investigating avenues for a challenge on Monday evening. Zorko would risk a two-match suspension if the Lions' challenge was unsuccessful, missing games against West Coast (Domain Stadium) and the Western Bulldogs (Gabba).

It is understood the 28-year-old believes he struck Plowman with an open hand, making contact with the base of his palm to Plowman's stomach and forcing the Blues defender to the ground. Plowman stayed down and was struggling to catch his breath after the strike but was able to play on, with a medical report from Carlton used in Monday's findings.

The Lions have until 11am AEST on Tuesday to notify the AFL if they will challenge, with Zorko also fined $1000 for striking draftee Sam Petrevski-Seton.

The MRP had laid 17 charges for intentional strikes to the body since the AFL announced a crackdown on gut and jumper punches following round nine. All were graded low impact, with the MRP fining players who would otherwise have escaped without any penalty at all.

Zorko is the first player to have a strike to the body graded as medium impact since the crackdown was implemented by the League.

Richmond captain Trent Cotchin escaped suspension for a forceful strike to the stomach of St Kilda forward Jack Lonie in round 16. The Zorko punch was viewed as comparable to North Melbourne midfielder Ben Cunnington's strike on Melbourne's Bernie Vince in round nine. Cunnington escaped suspension for that strike and was fined $1000, prompting a directive from the AFL to penalise intentional punches with more severity.

"Clearly the deterrent of fines is not stopping on-field punching in various forms," then football manager Simon Lethlean said at the time.
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The bolded is quite damning and whilst I think Zorko was a fool for placing himself in the position he finds himself, I'd be lying if it didn't s**t me beyond words that it is quite typical that one of our players is the one to be made an example of as being graded as medium impact when 17 others were graded as low impact.:mad:

So typically AFL.:rolleyes:
 

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MRP Update: Dayne Zorko accepts suspension
The Brisbane Lions have accepted Dayne Zorko's one match suspension and $1,000 fine for two striking charges laid in the Club's 30 point victory over Carlton on Sunday.

The first instance of striking occurred against Carlton’s Lachie Plowman and was assessed as intentional conduct with medium impact to the body. The Match Review Panel offered a one match suspension with an early plea.

The second infringement also occurred during the third quarter against Carlton’s Sam Petrevski-Seton and was assessed as intentional conduct with low impact to the body. The Match Review Panel offered a $1,000 fine with an early plea.

While accepting the charges, the club will question the AFL’s consistency with such offences.

“After considered deliberations last night, the Club has decided not to contest the charge, but we have serious concerns around the inconsistences that are coming out from the MRP around the severity of suspensions, and will be taking the matter up with the AFL,” Brisbane Lions CEO Greg Swann said.
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The club has been badly let down by Dayne, particularly his young teammates who look up to him for on-field leadership and yet, Dayne will be unsighted for the toughest trip in football for actions he has form.

Hopefully this suspension will result in Dayne pulling his head-in on-field, because his on-filed actions with the his constant carry on with the umpires and niggle with opponents and overall tough guy antics are nothing short but embarrassing and we all know Dayne is better than all that crap which are now a feature of his game.
 
Dylan12 said:
MRP Update: Dayne Zorko accepts suspension

The club has been badly let down by Dayne, particularly his young teammates who look up to him for on-field leadership and yet, Dayne will be unsighted for the toughest trip in football for actions he has form.

Hopefully this suspension will result in Dayne pulling his head-in on-field, because his on-filed actions with the his constant carry on with the umpires and niggle with opponents and overall tough guy antics are nothing short but embarrassing and we all know Dayne is better than all that crap which are now a feature of his game.
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We also can't afford to be pussy cats either who get pushed around. We are the youngest team in the competition, to see their leaders standing up to them would be reassuring (Zorko, Robinson, Robertson etc.) It just needs to be a balancing act.
 
Dayne Zorko ignoring outside distractions
Brisbane Lions midfielder Dayne Zorko told Triple M Breakfast this morning that the Club are concentrating on securing a second Q Clash victory this year and are ignoring the drama surrounding their Gold Coast opponent.

Speaking to Marto, Ed and Robin he said, “The outside noise can go on outside the Club but inside we’re focused on the game ahead."

Zorko agreed the Suns should not be underestimated despite losing Coach Rodney Eade this week and Captain Tom Lynch and Gary Ablett ruled out because of injury.

“I think with a new coach you definitely want to try and prove something but we don’t really talk about it at the Football Club at all. We just go about business,” he said. “We have our structures and our game plans that we want to stick to and we just want to execute them as best as possible.”

Zorko says the Lions’ close loss to the Western Bulldogs in Round 20 has provided the team confidence heading into tomorrow’s clash against the Suns. He believes the younger players have started to find their groove and make a stronger impact on field as they gain more experience at Senior level.

“More aggressive, now that the younger kids are starting to get a few more games under their belt, they're starting to pick up the speed of the game. Our game plan is starting to click with a lot of the players. Our ball movement has been really good,” he said.
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Zorko wants the season to keep going
The Brisbane Lions are last, but they don't want the season to stop. Saturday's crushing QClash win over Gold Coast was the Lions' fourth victory since the mid-season bye – more than five other teams in the competition. With just two rounds remaining, they need to win one, or possibly both, of their matches against Melbourne and North Melbourne to avoid the wooden spoon.

But with under-20s Harris Andrews, Eric Hipwood, Hugh McCluggage, Jarrod Berry and the injured Alex Witherden turning heads, and breakout seasons from Lewy Taylor, Dan McStay, Nick Robertson and Sam Mayes, there's a buzz around the Gabba again. Livewire midfielder Dayne Zorko, who himself must be in All Australian contention for his blistering season, says he wishes there were more matches left in 2017.

"It's not often you get to this stage of the year being last on the ladder and you want the season to keep going, but the energy is really high around the club," Zorko said on Monday. "There's a lot of enthusiasm, and I think we're just looking forward to each week and getting another chance to implement our gameplan and try to get a win."

And the Lions are hopeful the rest of the competition is seeing their improvement. "I hope teams don't just think they can roll us … I hope there's an element of 'we really need to play well otherwise Brisbane could catch us off our guard'," Zorko said. "That's definitely something we wanted to achieve coming into the season. Not saying it's there at the moment, I'm hopefully feeling teams have to play at their best against us."

One team that will have to be on their guard is Sunday's opponent Melbourne, who moved back into a congested top eight with a win over St Kilda. Amongst the improvement of Chris Fagan's first season in charge, the young Lions have battled against the bigger-bodied teams like Geelong, Sydney and Port Adelaide.

Although Melbourne fits into that category, Zorko is confident the Lions can give the Demons a scare. "It's going to be important for us to play to our strengths, but we have to win the contested ball first to give our outside runners an opportunity to move the ball," he said. "We need to play our game. We need to get that balance right between offence and defence. "Hopefully we can give Melbourne a really good challenge, and for our sake, we'd love another win. "We love the feeling at the moment wins create."
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How Zorko learnt to embrace the tag
DAYNE Zorko says he has learnt to be selfless under Lions coach Chris Fagan and as a result now feels like a more complete footballer. The reigning Lions club champion is a red-hot favourite to claim another Merrett-Murray medal this year and must be in consideration for an All Australian jumper. His electric form has been noticed across the competition and he was heavily tagged by GWS, Carlton and Richmond.

It was a new experience and his possession count suffered but Fagan has revealed in those games he increased his contribution in other areas and ranked among the top in the side for pressure acts. “A positive I’ve learnt is it is not about how many stats you get, it is how else can I help the team,’’ Zorko said.
“I think that is something I have really added.

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Dayne Zorko lets Alex Sexton know who was winning the QClash.

“I reckon earlier in my career if I got sat on I would internalise a bit too much. “But I feel now if I can help contribute to the team in other ways, whether that be with pressure or voice or blocking to help other midfielders to get off their man, I now realise that is just as important as getting the kicks and marks and handballs. “It is never nice getting tagged and getting taken out of the game but I understand my role is much bigger than just those statistics.’’

Zorko said while he had always understood the principle of players finding different roles to contribute to the team, Fagan’s simple message that the successful sides play for each other had helped him become more selfless. “It is just the fact it is going to take 22 players to win every week and if everyone contributes with their roles it gives us a greater opportunity to win every week,’’ he said. “It is not that I didn’t understand that before, I have just got my head around it a lot more now.’’

At this stage of the majority of the years Zorko has been in the AFL, the punch drunk Lions have been praying for the end of the season to roll around. However, they have won four of their ten games since the bye, a better record than Carlton, Gold Coast, Fremantle, North Melbourne and Collingwood.

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Dayne Zorko in action during the QClash.

Although their ladder position hasn’t shown a major change from last year, there is no denying the momentum the side has built since the bye and Zorko believes they would climb the ladder if the season was extended. “It’s not often you get to this stage of the year being last on the ladder and you want the season to keep going, but the energy is really high around the club,” he said. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm, and I think we’re just looking forward to each week and getting another chance to implement our game-plan and try to get a win.”
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