Dayne Zorko

Dayne Zorko (born 9 February 1989) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). Zorko is a five-time Merrett–Murray Medallist and was selected in the 2017 All-Australian team. He was also the Lions' leading goalkicker in 2016 and 2017. Zorko served as Brisbane Lions captain from 2018 through to 2022.

Dayne Zorko
Zorko playing for Brisbane in August 2018
Personal information
Full name Dayne Zorko
Nickname(s) Tinka,[1] the Magician[2]
Date of birth (1989-02-09) 9 February 1989
Place of birth Gold Coast, Queensland
Original team(s) Broadbeach (NEAFL)/Surfers Paradise(QAFL)
Draft 2011 QLD Zone Selection, Gold Coast
Debut Round 7, 2012, Brisbane Lions vs. Collingwood, at the Gabba
Height 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 82 kg (181 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder / forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2012– Brisbane Lions 249 (224)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2017 Australia 2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of Preliminary Final, 2023.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2017.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Zorko was born and raised on the Gold Coast where he attended Benowa State High School throughout his teenage years.[3][4] His Slovenian father immigrated from Yugoslavia to Melbourne before settling on the Gold Coast and having children. His brother, Beau, is the former senior coach of the Broadbeach Cats and Surfers Paradise Demons.[5][6] Dayne participated in Auskick at Surfers Paradise[7] at the age of four and went on to play more than 250 junior and senior games for the club,[8] which included an under-16 premiership where he played alongside future AFL players Ricky Petterd, Brent Renouf and Jesse White.[9] In 2007, he decided to switch clubs to Broadbeach for his final year of junior football in pursuit of top level QAFL exposure to increase his AFL draft chances. Zorko captained Queensland during the 2007 AFL Under 18 Championships and was named the state's best player during the national carnival,[10] but was overlooked in the 2007 AFL draft. He remained at Broadbeach for the 2008 season and picked up his first senior best-and-fairest award but was again overlooked in the 2008 AFL draft.

In March 2009 the newly formed GC17 consortium invited a then 20-year-old Zorko to train with their under-18 TAC Cup team,[11] which Zorko hoped would lead to a VFL contract with the club for the following season but Gold Coast's interest waned after two weeks.[12] By the end of the 2010 season, Zorko had amassed three consecutive senior best-and-fairest awards at Broadbeach but still failed to capture the interest of any AFL clubs. He found himself at a crossroad when being offered contracts to play in higher standard state leagues outside of Queensland but eventually decided to stay at Broadbeach for the 2011 NEAFL season. Broadbeach coach Matt Angus knew Zorko had the skills to make it in the AFL but described his professionalism as "nowhere near that" required of an AFL player.[1] At the conclusion of the 2011 season, after winning the NEAFL's Syd Guildford Trophy as the Football Record Player of the Year, along with a fourth consecutive club best-and-fairest with Broadbeach, he was put back on AFL recruiters' radars. Zorko later revealed his reason for staying in Queensland was the hope that the recently established Gold Coast Suns AFL team would draft him with their local access zone concessions.[13]

AFL career

Zorko was recruited by Gold Coast as a Queensland zone selection, before being on-traded to the Brisbane Lions. Zorko made his AFL debut against Collingwood at the Gabba in round 7, 2012, and quickly made a name for himself as a small half-forward flank who could kick freakish goals, leading to the nickname "The Magician".[14] He quickly became a cult figure at the Lions despite the team's woes, with Michael Voss being sacked as coach before the end of the 2013 season and the Lions hovering around the lower reaches of the ladder for several seasons.

After a consistent first few seasons, Zorko was named as the joint winner of the Merrett–Murray Medal in 2015 as Brisbane's best-and-fairest, alongside Dayne Beams, Stefan Martin and Mitch Robinson.[15] He went on to also win the award in 2016 and 2017,[16] as well as lead the Lions' goalkicking during those seasons, and was also selected in the 2017 All-Australian team as a half-forward.[17]

Zorko replaced Beams as the Lions' captain during the 2018 season after Beams stepped down from the captaincy for personal reasons, with Harris Andrews taking over as vice-captain from Zorko.[18] His first match as captain was in round 10 against Sydney at the Gabba.[19]

After Brisbane lost to Melbourne in round 23 of the 2022 season, Zorko apologised for an inappropriate comment he made during the game to Melbourne player Harrison Petty, saying in a statement 'I understand I need to be a better leader, and have spoken with the Club who have reinforced this."[20]

Zorko stood down as captain of the Brisbane Lions ahead of the 2023 season.[21]

Statistics

Updated to the end of the 2022 season.[22]

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2012Brisbane Lions15 161614168146314741031.00.910.59.119.64.66.46
2013Brisbane Lions15 222627193139332571171.21.28.86.315.12.65.33
2014Brisbane Lions15 211816222244466591150.90.810.611.622.22.85.58
2015Brisbane Lions15 22181130020550598850.80.513.69.322.34.53.95
2016Brisbane Lions15 202316300171471831281.20.815.08.623.64.26.45
2017Brisbane Lions15 213427341185526791471.61.316.28.825.13.87.014
2018Brisbane Lions15 222618302155457541591.20.813.77.020.82.57.26
2019Brisbane Lions15 242319404132536941601.00.816.85.522.33.96.719
2020[lower-alpha 1]Brisbane Lions15 179152226428665750.50.913.13.816.83.84.40
2021Brisbane Lions15 2317183861695551221400.70.816.87.424.15.36.114
2022Brisbane Lions15 2269323114437127640.30.414.75.219.95.82.95
Career 23021619031611724488591212930.90.813.77.521.24.05.685

Notes

  1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements

Team

Individual

References
  1. Windley, Matt (15 March 2013). "Brisbane midfielder Dayne Zorko's path to the AFL stage has been different than most". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  2. "Dayne Zorko re-signs". AFL Queensland. 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  3. Merrett, Daniel (25 March 2013). "In the bottle – The great Zorko". AFL Players Association. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  4. Blucher, Peter (17 August 2016). "Zorko: From Zero to 100". AFL Queensland. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  5. Wilson, Terry (1 April 2019). "Broadbeach Cats 2019 QAFL Season Preview". AFL Queensland. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  6. Wilson, Terry (31 October 2018). ""I feel there are exciting times ahead": Zorko announced as Broadbeach coach". AFL Queensland. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  7. AFL Record Round 4, 2022 pg 50
  8. Davis, Greg (17 February 2017). "Dayne Zorko says it is a special feeling to be able to play football at Broadbeach again". Courier Mail. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  9. "Untold story of the rise of Brisbane Lions AFL star Dayne Zorko". Gold Coast Bulletin. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  10. "'Party boy' whispers stunned Lions skipper". Queensland Times. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  11. "Coast gives incentive to Queenslanders". AFL Queensland. 5 March 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  12. "Gold Coast had a future club captain under their nost in 2010 and never called back". SEN. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  13. Hamilton, Andrew (24 March 2017). "Dayne Zorko a star for Brisbane Lions after being passed over by Gold Coast Suns". Courier Mail. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  14. Keane, Justin (22 July 2017). "Dayne Zorko raises hand for All-Australian selection". hashtagfooty.com.au. Hashtag Footy. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  15. Whiting, Michael (12 September 2015). "Four Lions share top honour at best and fairest". afl.com.au. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  16. Whiting, Michael (3 September 2016). "Zorko goes back to back in Lions' year of pain". afl.com.au. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  17. Navaratnam, Dinny (30 August 2017). "Shock skipper, All Australian team revealed". afl.com.au. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  18. Whiting, Michael (23 May 2018). "Beams steps aside as Lions skipper". afl.com.au. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  19. Whiting, Michael (25 May 2018). "Learning to lead: Lion ready to step up". afl.com.au. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  20. Whiting, Michael (20 August 2022). "'Need to be better': Zorko apologises for 'inappropriate comment'". afl.com.au. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  21. "Veteran skipper steps down as Lion King". afl.com.au. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  22. "Dayne Zorko". AFL Tables. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
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