Hitting highest hopes
WHEN Dayne Zorko leads the Lions out on to Metricon Stadium for QClash 17 tomorrow he will reach the one goal he set the day he first walked into the changerooms at the Gabba.
Zorko’s 150th milestone puts him at No.1 for games played in No.15 for the club – eclipsing the 149 clocked up by 1950s Fitzroy star Eddie Goodger.
“I have only ever told Fages this and Ryan (Lester) who is my closest mate at the club,’’ he said.
“At our club above our lockers we have the names and games records of the people who wore each number.
“Above mine I have Mal Michael who played 130-odd games and then Eddie Goodyer who had 149.
“It is a team game and I’m definitely about team success but the one personal goal I had when I arrived here was to play the most games in my number and put my name in first place on my locker.
“So on a personal level there is a degree of satisfaction, I’m thrilled to reach the milestone to be honest and it is something that means a lot.’’
While most footballers respond to questions about impending milestones with the standard “It’s probably something I’ll reflect on more when I retire,’’ Zorko is unashamedly excited each time he reaches a
new mark. He reckons if he was drafted as an 18-year-old they may not carry the same significance but after having to kick the door down to an AFL entry as a 22-year-old after four best and fairest awards with Broadbeach, they are worth celebrating.
“I guess as an 18-year-old when you come into the system after you have been the star of your age group you don’t expect it to happen but I reckon they think it will happen,’’ he said.
“But it is probably a bit different for me, my path was different.
“People have different goals when they make it on to an AFL list and I am proud of this achievement – I’m stoked really (to get this far).’’
Zorko could have already reached the milestone earlier if Gold Coast had exercised an option to select him for their initial list build but where once he harboured a slight grudge at the snubbing – those days are long gone.