A return to Brisbane’s evolving midfield on Thursday is likely for captain Dayne Zorko, who knows efforts to keep AFL opponents guessing will receive their toughest test yet against Geelong.
Zorko has missed two games in the past three weeks with a calf complaint but ran freely just hours before his side’s impressive defeat of Port Adelaide on Saturday in an indication he won’t need any longer on the sidelines.
Rising from mediocrity last season to finish second, the Lions (4-1) have made an effort to mix up their ball movement and get ahead of the pack in 2020.
Tweaks at quarter-time against the Power showed they were succeeding too, the Lions steamrolling the visitors through the middle of the ground after a slow start for a fourth-straight win.
Coach Chris Fagan said post-game it was important they “find the right mix” with their ball movement to remain unpredictable, something Zorko explained further on Monday.
“We just played what was in front of us and were able to use the corridor a bit more,” Zorko, who nervously watched from the stands, said.
“We’ve worked on our offence a lot since round one and constantly got better at that so it was nice to see we were able to move the ball in different ways.”
Any attempts to slice through the Cats’ at the SCG will need to be clinical with Zorko admitting the Saturday’s foes had set the defensive benchmark since his 2012 debut.
“They really choke you down, so it’s a good test for our ball movement and test for our players defensively as well … we need to be at our best,” he said.
Zorko will travel with the Lions to Sydney on Wednesday, where they will remain for at least a fortnight for games against Geelong and then GWS.
Troubled by the aggravation of his partially-torn plantaris muscle rubbing on his achilles, Zorko said the muscle’s complete tear during the week had actually solved the problem.
Melbourne recruit Harley Bennell recently opted to surgically remove the plantaris muscle in both legs in an effort to end his calf and achilles complaints and Zorko is confident he’s now in the clear too.
“Hopefully that’s (the aggravation) been the cause of pain over the last few months,” he said.
“To pull up the way I have (since running freely on Saturday) is quite reassuring and comforting.”