Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko hopes to play both pre-season games despite hamstring setback

Brisbane skipper Dayne Zorko has provided an update on an injury setback as the Lions try to shore up their defence.

Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko says he is on track to play in the Lions’ scratch match against Sydney on February 24. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko says he expects to play in both of the Lions’ pre-season games after suffering a hamstring tear last week.

The 34-year-old had caught the eye with his slim build and increased running power in his 12th pre-season at the club but missed an intraclub match on Friday and may sit out a second this week at the Lions’ new Brighton Homes Arena headquarters.

“It’s a little bit of a setback but nothing to be overly concerned about – I just felt it a couple of weeks ago, and naturally we scan these things and we found a little tear in there,” Zorko told SENQ’s breakfast program.

“Fingers crossed I’ve missed (Friday’s intraclub match) and that’s about it.”

Zorko said he had been concerned about the potential for the injury lay-off to impact the work he had done on his troublesome achilles, which has hampered him in recent seasons.

“The best thing about it is I’ve been able to run the whole time, so I’ve been able to keep up my load on my achilles, which has been really important and something that I worried about probably a little bit at the start,” he said.

A hamstring tear sidelined Dayne Zorko from Brisbane’s intraclub match. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Zorko said Brisbane coach Chris Fagan had remained his “cool, calm and collected” self as he awaits the end of the independent investigation into allegations of racism at Hawthorn.

“He’s really energetic around the group like he always has been, and we as players have really appreciated it,” Zorko said.

Fagan is taking on the task of strengthening the Lions’ defence, which Zorko said was the club’s top focus over the pre-season after a “really poor” last 12 months.

“I think defensively last year, we just leaked too many points,” he said.

“There were three or four games that we conceded over 100 points, and in previous years we hadn’t done that.

“Keeping teams under a certain amount, whether it’s 10 goals or 11 goals, roughly that’s the number that seems to win the premiership … Geelong did it last year, Melbourne did it the year before, so it’s a really important benchmark for us to try to achieve.”

Zorko, who is confident of playing in the Lions’ scratch match against Sydney on February 24, is no guarantee to lead the Lions again in 2023, as Harris Andrews and Hugh McCluggage are considered for the role.

Brisbane is also dealing with several injury concerns to key defenders, with Darcy Gardiner (shoulder) and Jack Payne (illness) working towards returns in Brisbane’s second practice match against Geelong on March 2 after Marcus Adams was placed on the inactive list due to concussion symptoms.