Brisbane veteran Dayne Zorko has revealed he completed the AFL grand final — and his premiership hat-trick — despite suffering a hamstring injury in the first quarter.
The 37-year-old finished with 28 disposals in the Lions’ extraordinary 14.12 (96) to 12.17 (89) win over Fremantle on Saturday.
He earned top votes from Andrew McLeod and Shaun Burgoyne in the Norm Smith Medal voting to finish runner-up to Shai Bolton (10 votes) and equal with young star Will Ashcroft (six votes)
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But there was a time early in the game Zorko thought he was done — when it was only reported he had been dealing with a corkie.
“I hung in there. I actually did my hammy in the first quarter,” Zorko told Channel 7’s Matthew Richardson in the post-match celebrations.
“I was a little concerned. The staff assured me I’d get through no worries and thankfully I did.”
Teammate Charlie Cameron also bounced back from having his ankle trapped and twisted in a tackle, kicking a goal soon after.
Brisbane were 17 points down with four minutes remaining when Fremantle pulled the trigger on Wharfie Time.
The Dockers looked home, but the Lions were just getting started with co-captain Josh Dunkley already firing up his teammates in the middle of the ground.
“We thought if we could get one they might tighten up a little bit,” Zorko said.
“Then we got second so quickly I thought we were a genuine chance to get on top. I didn’t think we’d win by seven (points) — I thought we’d win by one.
“Jeez, those boys in the centre clearances, Freo probably had the better of them on the day. We said it might not be your day, it’s always got to be your moment. All of them in there took them in the last quarter.”
He singled out Will Ashcroft for battling the pressure and expectation of being a dual Norm Smith medallist with hopes of a third.
“It’s hard to not hear that,” Zorko said.
“To his credit he just hung in there. You have to do that in grand finals. It’s not over until the siren goes, we’re well aware of that.
“We learned that in 2023. Right now honestly I’m just speechless.”
