Senior Dayne Zorko (2011-)

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Lions, Suns out to restore Queensland pride
LIONS star Dayne Zorko says restoring some pride in Sunshine State footy is the mission for the battered combatants in Sunday’s QClash at the Gabba. Both Brisbane and Gold Coast were on the end of floggings to forget last Saturday with a combined losing margin of 173 points for the Queensland clubs.

While grassroot footy numbers continue to prosper across the state, the performances of the Lions and Suns are still the all-important shopfront window for the code in Queensland. That window is sporting a couple of cracks after the Round 4 romps with their involvement in the multi-code stoush with Stadiums Queensland diverting attention away from the on-field woes of last weekend.

Zorko said Brisbane moved on quickly from the Richmond loss when the Lions did not kick their first goal until deep into the third quarter. “We did not want to spend too much time reflecting on it with the QClash this week so we put it behind us and our Tuesday training session was one of the best sessions we’ve had this year,’’ he said.

“That’s a really encouraging sign from an emerging group to show that maturity, move on and really get set for the QClash. “Contested ball has been a strong focus all week. Everyone raves about it because if you don’t have the ball, it is very difficult to do anything and Richmond really owned the contest last week.’’
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Lions back Zorko to bounce back from stinker
BRISBANE have vowed to rally around triple best-and-fairest winner Dayne Zorko and are backing him to rebound from his QClash shocker when the Lions take on GWS in Sydney on Saturday.

The 2017 All-Australian was kept to an equal team-low 10 disposals by Suns midfielder Touk Miller, who won the Marcus Ashcroft medal for his outstanding defensive work plus his 21 disposals and seven clearances in the Queensland derby. Zorko also gave away six free kicks and was embroiled in some post-match controversy when he refused to shake hands with Miller and appeared to swear at the Gold Coast midfielder.

Lions senior coach Chris Fagan said while Zorko will be better for the experience, it was up to Brisbane as a whole to support him when he gets his weekly dose of extra attention from opposition sides. "Last week it didn't work out well for him but the previous weeks he's worked really hard and been a really strong contributor for us,'' Fagan said. "He'll learn a few things from last week that he can apply this week. "Generally speaking, we need to help him more as a team. So we'll be looking at that as well.''
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Returning Brisbane veteran Daniel Rich has walked a mile in Zorko's shoes having had trouble breaking tags when he primarily ran through the midfield. Rich said being shadowed week-in, week-out can take its toll but expects Zorko to break the shackles. "I think he's done really well (against taggers). It's a hard thing … and you don't really know how hard it is until you have been there and lived it,'' he said. "It's hard to back-up every week and beat your tagger every single week. Even the best players in the game have a down week every now and then.

"But he has attacked it really well and he's very positive and always puts the team first and looks forward to how he can improve the team. "No doubt Zorks will bounce back after a quieter week last week. "As his teammate I'll be there to support him and help any way I can. He's a very good player so I'll back him in all day.''
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Teammates need to help Zorko escape taggers
BRISBANE Lions coach Chris Fagan has challenged his side to help Dayne Zorko shake off the taggers, after his struggling vice-captain had another quiet game against Greater Western Sydney.

Zorko had just 10 touches at Spotless Stadium as the Lions went down to GWS 10.17 (77) to 5.13 (43) on Saturday night. It continued a frustrating fortnight for the tough on-baller, who was accused of bad sportsmanship after last-week's Q-Clash loss to Gold Coast.

Zorko refused to shake hands with the Suns’ Touk Miler, who had tagged him out of the match. The 29-year-old struggled to have an impact against the Giants midfield, but did not have a minder like he did against the Suns.

"He kept trying hard, he's getting a lot of attention at the moment," Fagan said. "What needs to happen – as he has done this year and will continue to do so – he'll find ways to work his way through it. "We need to become better in the midfield so that you can't just easily target one guy to slow him down. "It's a mixture of things. He had a pretty tough week. I thought he kept trying tonight but it didn't work out for him. "It wasn't for a lack of a good attitude, but they (the Giants) went to work on him and did a reasonably good job."
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Personally reckon Coach Fagan is deflecting here in so much that Coach Fagan needs to help Zorko.

Perhaps, Coach Fagan could have moved Zorko into a back pocket in a similar vein that Leigh Matthews did with such success with Akermanis in 99 or Chris Johnson in 01 or hell, leave Zorko permanently deep in the forward pocket or one out across the full forward line.

Either way, Zorko's efforts have been beyond poor this year and it is evident that he clearly believes his own hype and lacks a modicum of humility. Shame that he is supposed to be one of our leaders.
 
Five talking points: GWS v Brisbane
5. Zorko woes continue
Dayne Zorko would probably like to forget the past fortnight. The Lions vice-captain was accused of bad sportsmanship last week after refusing to shake hands with Gold Coast's Touk Miller, who tagged him out of the Q-Clash. The incident came under the microscope during the Access All Areas segment on afl.com.au. He had only 10 touches against the Suns and Zorko was quiet again this week, managing the same number at Spotless Stadium, although he did tumble through a sausage roll in the final term.
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Dylan12 said:
Personally reckon Coach Fagan is deflecting here in so much that Coach Fagan needs to help Zorko.

Perhaps, Coach Fagan could have moved Zorko into a back pocket in a similar vein that Leigh Matthews did with such success with Akermanis in 99 or Chris Johnson in 01 or hell, leave Zorko permanently deep in the forward pocket or one out across the full forward line.
Either way, Zorko's efforts have been beyond poor this year and it is evident that he clearly believes his own hype and lacks a modicum of humility. Shame that he is supposed to be one of our leaders.
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I was with you until your final sentence.

He's out of form .....check.

Prinary "help" should come from the coach.....check

Try him deep back or forward......check

Then you had to ruin it by impugning Zorko's efforts, his leadership qualities and his character in general.

Far from adding to your argument, it took away from it.
 
Fagan hotline helps Zorko finally bounce back
A FEW phone calls from former midfield aces helped Brisbane star Dayne Zorko finally bounce back with a season-best performance. After the match, Lions coach Chris Fagan thanked the unnamed retired players for helping Zorko find his touch with a massive 34-possession, 10-tackle and four-goal game.

Fagan said the advice and Zorko’s drive as a proud competitor led to his strong performance. "I sorted of helped organise a little bit of it. Sometimes it is good to hear from other people that have been through the same scenario and hear how they worked their way through it," he said. "So we thought that was a good strategy for Dayne and he embraced it and certainly got a lot out of it. Thank you to those people who helped out."

Fagan said Zorko would have other challenges ahead, but believes Sunday’s performance would give him confidence in his ability to work through the tough times. "I just thought over the two weeks he has now worked out the attitude you need to have to force your way and impose yourself on games. All credit to him," he said.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley also heaped praise on the resurgent Zorko performance. "It wasn't to allow him to have 34 and four and 10 tackles. That's a significant game and a really good performance. He's a really good player," Buckley said. "Whatever our plans were, they didn't work, and I think a large part of that was the way we allowed the game to be played and the way Brisbane could impose their style on the game."
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Five talking points: Brisbane v Collingwood
4. The two Dayne’s back in good form
Dayne Zorko’s struggle with the hard tag this year has been well-documented, but the All Australian was paid less attention by Collingwood and the Brisbane star took full advantage. He finished with four goals – the third after a great mark close to the goalsquare – and 34 disposals in his best performance for the year.
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How winless Lions can break duck
DAYNE Zorko says the Lions need to have a selfless “team first” attitude in pressure situations to start converting close games to victories. Zorko did not single out teammates and made a point of saying nobody deliberately made the wrong choice.

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Dayne Zorko has returned to his best form.

But there can be no doubt he is referring to situations such as the long shots for goal taken by Cam Rayner in the Q Clash and Jarrod Berry against the Bulldogs on the weekend as examples where finding a teammate in a better position might have been the preferred option.

“In pressure situations, we’re not doing it on purpose, but we’re going outside the team a little bit and trying to do it all ourselves a bit too much,” he said.
“Everyone wants to win. I don’t think anybody is doing it on purpose. “There just seems to be a better option we could have used, and when we play really selfless team football we’re able to score really quickly.”

Zorko was the subject of much analysis over the start of the season as he struggled to cope with becoming a target for opposition defensive plans. He was tagged out of several games and eventually sought advice from former stars of the competition, such as triple premiership Lion Simon Black.

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Zorko and Luke Hodge ponder Saturday’s loss to the Western Bulldogs.

He has responded in emphatic fashion in the past two weeks, with 34 disposals and four goals against Collingwood and another 24 and four goals against the Bulldogs. “On an individual note they have (turned around), absolutely they have, it has been a fairly good last two weeks,’’ he said. “It has been nice to touch the footy again and the help from my teammates has been incredible.’’
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Key Takeaways Lions v Swans
Zorko, confirming he will handle the captaincy without any problems, had an equal career-best 12 tackles on Saturday.

It was the sixth time he’s had 12 tackles and is the equal most tackles in a game by a Lions player this year, matching his own effort against Hawthorn in Round 9 and Robinson’s 12 tackles against the Bulldogs in Round 8.
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