Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan has admitted there is a void in his backline that needs to be filled – one that had the spotlight on him in Dayne Zorko’s absence against Geelong.
The veteran was late to scratch from his side 17.15 (117) to 11.10 (76) defeat to the Cats on Thursday night, and it seemed to completely shift the way his teammates appeared from behind.
Zorko was just two weeks back from a calf strain and pulled out of the main rematch to manage his workload. Aged 37, he has yet to announce his intention to retire, and has signed a one-year contract extension through 2022.
Fagan hinted that managing Zorko’s work would be a common theme.
“He started getting sick from the match last week, and he wasn’t feeling 100 percent in training on Tuesday, and he wasn’t the best in the captaincy race so we decided not to risk him,” the coach explained.
“He’s 37 years old, he’s played 300 games, we’ve gone from Sunday to Saturday to Friday to Thursday last month, and sometimes he gets big guys, so we wanted to be careful with him.
“You have to be smart.”
The life of the star with 311 games has changed since he moved to half-back in 2024. His service – and willingness to attack the zone – has made Simba a dangerous attacking unit.
Before the injury, Zorko averaged over 29 touches, four inside 50s and six 50 rebounds a game. When Brisbane won against Adelaide and Essendon without him, the Cats exposed his emptiness.
Apart from the Lions’ four-goal second-quarter performance – highlighted by two of Charlie Cameron’s three goals on the night, and some good kicking from the busy Levi Ashcroft (28 goals) – Geelong rarely let up the momentum.
In the first quarter alone, they had 23 inside 50s to Brisbane’s eight, with Jeremy Cameron and Bailey Smith in spectacular touch – both kicking sudden body goals to give their team a 22-point buffer. Coming out of trouble, the Lions targeted the wing to no avail and the moves were quickly undone.
The Lions’ only two goals both came from the few times they managed to escape their 2025 season – Cody Curtin, who signed a new contract at the end of 2029, went unnoticed by Cam Rayner, before the player fumbled the ball and kicked himself.
Their all-star midfield was completely silenced, with Lachie Neale (six first-quarter touches) notably invisible as Geelong rival Oisin Mullin kept him under his wing.
Once Cats forward Shaun Mannagh exploded – kicking five goals, 30 assists and three assists – there was no chance for Brisbane to secure a decisive result. Four goals in seven minutes early in the third quarter extinguished most of Simba’s hopes.
“We lost (Brandon) Starcevich to West Coast and (Noah) Answerth (to a concussion) who are good screen guards. Lincoln McCarthy we tried to build on that, so the guys that had a job for (Mannagh) tonight didn’t,” Fagan said.
“That’s not to say we can’t make those guys better. We’re asking guys like Jaspa (Fletcher) and Darcy (Wilmot) to play on top of that, and they’re probably more attacking full-backs, so they have to get the same balance when attacking and when defending.
“That’s the reality at the moment, we have to develop someone in that position.”
Without Zorko’s influence in creating a forward goal, Simba’s midfield was denied chances to score, as teammates Neale, Will Ashcroft (24 disposals) and Hugh McCluggage (16 disposals) were blocked.
Conversely, Mannagh and Smith (two goals, 34) were at their best, establishing Geelong as a major flag threat and leaving the Lions in a period of self-reflection. Not that Fagan is ready to “press the panic button”, blaming his team’s 59 per cent kicking efficiency on the Cats’ pressure.
“I thought a lot of our good players didn’t play as well as they usually do. Oisin was marking Lachie Neale, but I don’t think some of our midfielders were being marked too closely,” Fagan said.
“They didn’t have a good night. We’ve won six of the last seven games … we’ve had three or four changes in a row for six days, maybe we need to take a breather, rest a bit and get ready to go again.”
Fagan remained hopeful that Zorko, McCarthy and Jarrod Berry could return for next Sunday’s clash against the Giants.
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