Dayne Zorko will become the oldest 300-game player in AFL history on Sunday night in a milestone which proves that perhaps there really is some longevity value in the Queensland sun.
Zorko, who will be aged 36 years 195 days when he posts his triple century against Hawthorn at the Gabba, will take the record from fellow Lions great Alastair Lynch, who played his last 10 years in Queensland.
The ex-Fitzroy star was 36 years 28 days in his 300th game against Collingwood at the MCG in Round 16 2004.
And who did Lynch take the record from? It was another southerner who played his last nine years in Queensland – Roger Merrett.
Originally a star at Essendon, Merrett was 36 years 22 days in his 300th in Round 7 1996 against Hawthorn at the Gabba.
Ironically, Merrett broke the long-standing AFL record held for 23 years by the man with whom he shares naming rights of the Merrett/Murray Medal, awarded annually to the Brisbane club champion.
Kevin Murray, the games record-holder at Brisbane merger Fitzroy, was two days short of his 35th birthday - 34 years 363 days – in his 300th game against Geelong at Kardinia Park in Round 11 1973.
In one of the great stories in Queensland sport, Zorko will be the fourth Sunshine State football product to play 300 AFL games after StKilda champion Nick Riewoldt (336) and Lions triple premiership pair Jason Akermanis (325) and Marcus Ashcroft (318).
He will also be the third Brisbane player to 300 games after Ashcroft and Simon Black (322), the 108th AFL player all-time, and the oldest debutant among those 108.
Zorko will head be a double milestone celebration that was originally to be a triple-header. Charlie Cameron will play his 250th AFL game on Sunday night, but sadly Eric Hipwood’s 200th was postponed due to injury.
The Zorko journey began on 12 May 2012 when the 175cm midfielder turned defender debuted at 23 years 93 days after he’d been overlooked by every club in the League in the National Draft of 2007-08-09-10.
The Queensland Under 18 Captain and MVP under coach Danny Craven at the 2007 Australian Under 18 Championships, he was passed over in his original draft year as other Queenslanders were picked up.
In the National Draft Zillmere’s Brendan Whitecross went to Hawthorn at #29 and Sunshine Coaster Sam Reid to the Western Bulldogs at #34, before Morningside’s John Williams went to Essendon via the Pre-Season Draft and in the Rookie Draft, Southport’s James Mulligan went to the Bulldogs, Zillmere’s Rhys Magin went to Essendon, Redland’s Jake Spencer went to Melbourne and an unregistered Jake Orreal joined Sydney.
And while Whitecross played 111 games at Hawthorn before his career was ruined by two knee reconstructions, and Reid played 108 games for the Dogs and GWS, this group together fell short of the Zorko mark – they played 255 games between them.
And if that stings heavily for the collective AFL recruiting fraternity who overlooked Zorko four years in a row, it will be more so for the SUNS.
They had first rights on Zorko as a born-and-bred local after he’d established himself as the best player in the QAFL at the time, having won several League awards and the Broadbeach B&F four years in a row. And then starred for Queensland against WA in Perth in June 2018.
But the SUNS decided to pass on Zorko. Brisbane, noting Zorko’s 30 possessions, 10 tackles and four goals for the State side against WA, took a punt on him after they’d received a more favorable medical report.
They initiated a trade with the SUNS effectively for a second round pick in the draft, and after a summer of intensive treatment for his OP he debuted in Round 7 of 2011.
He’s missed only nine games along the way – three through suspension, one for family reasons after his father had a heart attack, one when he was ‘sore’, one with a hamstring, and three games with a bad calf.
Brisbane player #257, he’s welcomed 101 players to the team, with Round 23 debutant Luke Beeken played #358.
He did it tough early, with 46 wins from his first 150 games as the Lions finished 13th-12th-15th-17th-17th-18th-15th from 2012-18. But he set his personal bar high, winning the B&F in 2015-16-17-18, and was All-Australian in 2017.
In the revival of the club under Chris Fagan since then he’s added a fifth B&F in 2021 to equal Michael Voss’ club record, and through his last 149 games he’s had 103 wins and two draws. And played 16 finals, two grand finals and won an elusive flag last year, when he was the oldest member of the All-Australian side.
Having taken over the captaincy mid-way through 2018, Zorko led the club until the end of 2022, and with 104 games at the helm sits behind only Voss (210), Jonathan Brown (127) and Roger Merrett (125).
He’s second on the Brisbane all-time possession list with 6546, behind only Simon Black (7580) and ahead of Voss (6143), Nigel Lappin (5911), Luke Power (5884) and Daniel Rich (5632), and, with 97 Brownlow Medal votes ranks fourth behind Black (184), Voss (150) and Jonathan Brown (112), and ahead of Lappin (93), Akermanis (91) and Power (83).
His 711 possessions last year is the most by any Brisbane player in one season.
And, having already gone past Lynch (36 years 187 days) and Merrett (36 years 155 days) to become the club’s oldest all-time player, he will play on in 2026 as a 37-year-old.
Among all Queenslanders in the AFL, Zorko will be the fourth 300-gamer behind Nick Riewoldt (336), Akermanis (325) and Ashcroft (315). He sits ahead of Voss (289), Jason Dunstall (269), Jarrod Harbrow (262), Cameron (249), Gavin Crosisca (246), Mal Michael (238) and David Hale (237), with Harris Andrews (234) closing on the top 10.
Zorko is the #1 possession-winner among Queenslanders, with his 6546 heading Voss (6143), Akermanis (5868), Ashcroft (5848) and Riewoldt (5613), and, with 236 goals, is ninth behind Dunstall (1254), Riewoldt (718), Cameron (428), Akermanis (421), Charlie Dixon (357), Kurt Tippett (325), Hipwood (287) and Voss (245) and and ahead of Hale (217).
And he’s 5th for Brownlow votes behind Riewoldt (153), Voss (150), Dunstall (129) and Akermanis (107), and ahead of Dayne Beams (90).
