Brisbane Lions focused on Suns, not top spot, says veteran Dayne Zorko
With five rounds of the regular season remaining, the second-placed Lions, on the back of four successive wins, are just two points adrift of competition leaders Collingwood, who have suffered back-to-back defeats.
If the Lions beat Gold Coast at People First Stadium on Saturday, and the Magpies lose to struggling Richmond on Sunday, Brisbane would be on top by the end of the weekend.
If both Brisbane and Collingwood win this weekend, top spot will be on the line on Saturday week when the teams meet at the MCG.
However, should the Lions lose to the Suns, Adelaide will move ahead of them with a win over Port Adelaide on Saturday night.
It's that scenario that Brisbane – who despite winning four premierships since the merger of the Bears and Fitzroy before the 1997 season have not won a minor premiership in that period – is most focused on avoiding, rather than being concerned about top spot.
'We found ourselves in a little bit of trouble earlier in the year when we started doing that,' Zorko told SENQ Breakfast.
'We looked where we were on the ladder and there was a fair bit of separation with us and Collingwood compared to the rest, and we felt as though our form started to fluctuate a little bit.'
The Lions won just two of six matches in a sub-par May-June period, which resulted in them dropping out of the top two.
'We put all that stuff aside. We just purely focus on what's important from week to week now,' said Zorko ahead of Brisbane's bid for a fifth straight win on Saturday.
'We want to try to finish up as high as we possibly can, but more importantly we want our game to still be in really good check.
'We want to keep improving and adjusting our style to make sure, heading towards that finals period, our game's in the best possible shape we can get it.'
Payney ���🩹� pic.twitter.com/cJssTMpM7C
— Brisbane Lions (@brisbanelions) July 22, 2025
Zorko, who has been cleared to play on Saturday after a positive outcome from scan results on a sore foot, expected the Suns to 'respond significantly' to their 61-point weekend loss to Adelaide.
'Their game's still healthy, they're in really good check,' Zorko said of the eighth-placed Suns.
'You have those losses. Collingwood beat us by a monstrous number (52 points) earlier on in the season, and you come back, you respond and you clean things up.
'I'm expecting them to do the same thing, which we'll be ready for.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Carlton star Charlie Curnow shuts down trade speculation but question remains
Carlton star Charlie Curnow has declared he isn't going anywhere, emphatically shutting down AFL trade speculation. Curnow has this week been linked to Gold Coast, Sydney and Geelong as the Blues limp towards the end of a horror season. But the 28-year-old on Thursday night denied reports he had sought a move away from Ikon Park. 'I obviously want to be here,' Curnow told reporters after the Blues' 13.7 (85) to 9.7 (61) defeat to Hawthorn. 'I don't really want to make this about me right now, but I'm playing at Carlton next year. There you go. Done.' A two-time Coleman Medal winner, Curnow has another four years left to run on his lucrative deal with Carlton. Blues coach Michael Voss said the spearhead's future had not been a talking point internally this week, while Curnow rubbished reports he had told the club he is keen to explore his options. 'No, nothing has happened,' Curnow said. 'I'm just putting all of my time into playing footy at this club for the next year and the future years.' After the game, 7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary was quizzed on all the Curnow trade whispers that have been buzzing all week. 'Did he or did he not ask for a trade? He's adamant that he's never suggested or insisted on a trade out of Carlton and he won't be doing so. He will be staying at the football club for the foreseeable future,' Cleary said. AFL great Nick Riewoldt asked how did the whispers start and why was the talk — 'doesn't like the Melbourne bubble and the attention. Gold Coast, Sydney and a potential move down the coast to Geelong' — so detailed. Cleary said: 'It starts with little chatters, maybe more informal — 'it's been a tough year, wouldn't mind seeing what else is out there,' and then things snowball from there. 'Players have been taking about this for a couple of weeks, little jokes on the field here at the Collingwood-Carlton game that the Daicos boys might have been in Charlie's ear and having fun with it. 'Things snowballed a little bit. We have to take Charlie Curnow on his word, he's never suggested a trade and won't be doing so. 'There's no world (Carlton) lose De Koning and Curnow in the same trade period. You trade Curnow, you've got to go and find another one — and there's not one out there.' Carlton will miss the finals for the first time since 2022, sitting 12th with a 7-12 record. The slide down the ladder has cast doubt over Voss' future as coach, and comes in a year when long-suffering Blues fans had dared to dream of the club ending a 30-year premiership drought. Curnow said he appreciated the frustration Carlton supporters are feeling, but urged them to stay the course. 'It's a hard one to cop for them, I know,' Curnow said. 'Just grow with us, have fun with us. We're trying hard out there. 'We do really want to have a crack for them. Just stick with us and something good will happen.' Curnow has kicked 32 goals in 18 games this year, failing to reclaim his best form after undergoing knee and ankle surgeries during the pre-season. 'That probably lingered around at the start of the season for me,' he said. 'I tried to find my feet, but I feel like as a team we haven't really found our feet also. That's been obvious.' Curnow had a brief moment of enjoyment after the Hawthorn loss, when retiring stalwart Sam Docherty and 200-game defender Jacob Weitering were chaired off the MCG. Carlton captain Patrick Cripps joined Hawks assistant coach and former Blues teammate Kade Simpson in hoisting Docherty onto their shoulders. 'It's nice to be able to enjoy something like tonight,' Curnow said. 'It was a pretty awesome moment with Kade Simpson coming off at the boundary. It was pretty good to watch.'
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Adelaide signals its arrival as a genuine AFL heavyweight and is perfectly placed for a premiership charge
The Crows are perfectly placed for a September charge this AFL season. A crushing 61-point defeat over the rising Gold Coast Suns has helped Adelaide soar into premiership contention, now among the favourites to take out the flag alongside Brisbane and Victorian heavyweights Collingwood. With seven wins from their last eight games, (the only loss in that period coming against Hawthorn by three points), the Crows have signalled their arrival as a force to be reckoned with late in the season. Captain Jordan Dawson has led the charge again this season, but he wouldn't be drawn into the argument that his club was the new flag favourite, ahead of Adelaide's Showdown 58 clash against the Power this weekend. "I think we've got a great group and I'm really confident in the way we play our footy and the way we go about it," Dawson said. "I've got no doubt our best footy is definitely good enough but like we've seen this year, any team on any given day can beat you, so we're very wary of that." James Peatling, Isaac Cumming and Alex Neal-Bullen all joined the Crows ahead of 2025 and have all had their moments to shine in 2025. Neal-Bullen's role as a midfielder and forward has given other players, like Dawson and Izak Rankine, freedom to be more damaging up the field. The former Demon has also been damaging himself, kicking three goals and gathering a career-high 31 disposals against the Suns last weekend. Former Giants Peatling and Cumming have also locked up spots in Adelaide's best team, showing versatility with their ability to play multiple roles. Dawson this week said his side now had the depth and talent to challenge for a flag. "Obviously bringing those three recruits in has helped us a lot and internally there's been a lot of growth from individuals," Dawson said at a press conference this week. "We've always had a lot of belief but we've just really narrowed the focus, I suppose, this year and focused on the week to week." In years gone by, if Taylor Walker didn't fire then the Crows struggled up forward. Now in the later stages of his career, the veteran certainly hasn't been poor, but has handed the reins over to Adelaide's young brigade to lead the charge. Riley Thilthorpe has kicked 41 goals this season, including bags of six against the Bulldogs in Round 18 and five against the Suns and Richmond early in the year. Izak Rankine and Josh Rachele have both provided a spark and pinch-hit in the midfield — with both adding 25 goals to the team's goal tally. Because of this, the pressure has been taken off of Walker — who has led the forward line for the past decade. He's still managed 28 goals as a third option, while Darcy Fogarty has also benefited from Thilthorpe's form, with 34 goals as well. Ben Keays and Alex Neal-Bullen also provide pressure and energy inside 50, providing a headache for all opposition defenders. This has helped Adelaide become the third-ranked team in the competition for points per game, behind only Geelong and the Western Bulldogs. Mark Keane, Josh Worrell and Nick Murray are three players not often spoken about as superstars of the competition. With the likes of Carlton's Jacob Weitering, GWS defender Sam Taylor and Brisbane's Harris Andrews marshalling defensive 50s, Adelaide's key defenders are somewhat unheralded. Despite the lack of media attention, Worrell and Keane are currently the top two players for intercept marks this season, Worrell with 137 and Keane with 134. This form has catapulted Adelaide into the number one spot for total intercepts, with Worrell taking 11 marks against the Suns alone in Round 19. Adelaide also sits second behind only Collingwood for points conceded and, thanks to its damaging forward line, has the healthiest percentage of 139.6 from 18 games. It is worth mentioning Adelaide hasn't played in a final since being belted by the Tigers in the 2017 decider. And it's quite rare for a team to jump straight to a premiership in its first finals appearance in years. So, how much impact will that have on player mentality come September? Crows Coach Matthew Nicks backed his team to lift when the finals begin. He said they would treat their remaining games as a warm-up for September, starting with this week's Showdown. "If you look back on the history of the game, we know what's coming," he said. "It's often talked about in the post-game as finals-like footy, there's not many Showdowns that haven't been. "From our point of view, it's perfect. We want to play in the hardest possible games we can and test ourselves and it won't be any harder than this." Despite their form, the Crows have only won three games against current top eight teams this season, the Suns, Brisbane and the Giants. Nicks said despite the extra commentary his side was getting late in the season, they were not thinking about finals at all. "It's not even something that's crossed our mind," Nicks said. "I think the position we're in is off the back of us not looking at any of that … the reality is it's there and it's noise." Port Adelaide Coach Ken Hinkley, however, was keen to put some pressure on, claiming the Crows should finish on top of the ladder. "Without pumping them up too much … they're the form team of the competition," Hinkley said at this week's Showdown press conference. "They've had an unbelievable run, I think eight or 10 of the last 12 or something. Adelaide play Port Adelaide in Showdown 58 this Saturday night, with clashes against Hawthorn and Collingwood to come in the run to finals. A top four spot should be more than achievable, with Adelaide's remaining matches coming against lowly West Coast and North Melbourne.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
From Showdown I to the Demolition Derby to the Swans-GWS elimination final, the best interstate rivalry games
This weekend, the AFL has scheduled an unofficial Rivalry Round, with no big Melbourne rivalry games but all four of the key interstate clashes on the one weekend. The Showdown. The Western Derby. The Q-Clash. And the Sydney Derby. What makes these games so good? For the Showdown and the Western Derby, the advantage is that they occur in two-team towns in AFL-dominant cities. This means that for the week of the game, it is pretty much THE sporting talking point, so by game-time, the city is at fever pitch. It helps if there is a particular home base of fans — such as Port Adelaide and Fremantle — geographically located in a part of the city. And if there is a socio-economic split, such as the famous Fibros vs Silvertails for Manly vs Wests in rugby league, then all the better. If there's one rule for a good rivalry game, it's this: it doesn't matter where they are on the ladder, whether they're top four or cellar-dwellers, both teams will lift for the games against their cross-town rivals. Clearly, with some of these teams, the on-field fierceness and hostility occasionally spills over, and it's not always limited to game day — just mention the name of the Ramsgate Hotel to people in Adelaide, for example. Big, memorable moments in the games help, too, and if they get the crowd outraged or stunned, then that's just great. The Q-Clash and the Sydney Derby are recent arrivals, so have not had as much time to establish themselves, but there have still been some cracking instalments. So here, with no particular order — because depending on which group of fans you asked, you would get a different answer — are the top seven interstate rivalry games in the AFL era. Two years after the beginning of the Western Derby, South Australia had its own rivalry game after the entry of Port Adelaide into the AFL. The Crows were the first SA team to enter the league in 1991, but only after Port Adelaide tried to negotiate their way into the AFL to start the same season. The moves caused division in South Australian football, setting up a real emotional charge when the Power finally came in. The first Showdown came at Football Park in round four, 1997. The whole city could talk about little else, and more than 47,000 people packed the ground for the inaugural clash. The Crows, coached by Malcolm Blight, were the favourites, having won one of their three games, while Port Adelaide was yet to get off the mark. The tension was there right from the off, with Crows defender Rod Jameson — now an ABC commentator — and Port key forward Scott Cummings squaring up to each other before the bounce and exchanging punches. To say the first quarter was tight was an understatement, as the Power kicked 1.6 to Adelaide's 1.1. Port Adelaide found their kicking boots after quarter time, kicking nine goals to four in the second and third quarters to get out to a 33-point lead. But it wasn't over. The Crows stormed home with six goals to two in the final term, as Crows superstar Tony Modra finished the match with seven goals, but it wasn't to be enough. The final margin was 11 points, and the teal, blue, black and silver half of Adelaide erupted. The Western Derby has had some fairly ferocious encounters in its 30-year history, including the infamous incident in 2018 where the Eagles' Andrew Gaff broke Andrew Brayshaw's jaw with a punch. But for pure mayhem, Western Derby 12 in 2000 took some matching. It had a bit of everything, and in retrospect, it wasn't too big of a surprise. The previous game in the series earlier that year had seen the Eagles belt the Dockers by a close to 20-goal margin. An interview with Freo forward Clive Waterhouse raised the temperature substantially in the days before the return match, when he said, "it wouldn't surprise me if blood was spilled at Subiaco Oval". It was on before the bounce, with Michael Gardiner throwing real jabs at Dockers rookie Mathew Pavlich, and that set the scene for a combustible encounter. Dale Kickett was involved in a couple of fights, taking swings at Eagles players Phillip Read and Andrew Embley, while a benches-clearing brawl at half-time led to seven players being fined by the AFL. Not even the umpires were safe, as Steven Hanley backed into a charging Phil Matera, prompting a huge collision, with Matera himself taken off on a stretcher. West Coast had roared out to a 32-point lead at the main break, with the margin maxing out at 42 points before the Dockers mounted a comeback. With Waterhouse (seven goals) leading the charge, they booted six goals in the final term to hit the front. The Eagles had a chance to win it, but a rushed behind left the Dockers ahead by a solitary point when the siren sounded. The fallout saw Kickett banned for nine weeks, Gardiner banned for two, and the Dockers' Brad Dodd suspended for two weeks for hitting West Coast's Phillip Read, who also was out for a fortnight for striking back. The game was a classic and was quickly branded the "Demolition Derby". The first edition of the Brisbane-Gold Coast rivalry was a cracker, and potentially reached heights that subsequent games have struggled to match. Like Port Adelaide in the original Showdown, the Suns went into the first encounter at the Gabba in round seven, 2011, as big underdogs, especially coming off an embarrassing 139-point thumping by the Bombers the previous week. There was some old-school chat to the media in the lead-up to the game, with Lions champion Simon Black getting stuck into former teammates Michael Rischitelli and Jared Brennan, calling them "mercenaries" for going to the Suns. Gold Coast came out with a point to prove and led by 27 at half-time, and still held a three-goal margin at three-quarter-time. Skipper Gary Ablett junior had a quiet night, but Brennan and Rischitelli responded against their old sides, with 30 disposals and a goal, and 29 touches and 10 tackles respectively. The Lions charged home and levelled the scores with a great pick-up and snap from Todd Banfield with five minutes left. But a controversial free-kick and advantage to the Suns led to a Brandon Matera goal, and Gold Coast hung on to win by eight. The energy levels were right up, with Liam Patrick taking a screamer for the AFL newcomers and Nathan Krakoeur booting five for the Suns, while Ash McGrath kicked six for the Lions. It was the perfect start to the rivalry. Rivalry games mean a lot, and sometimes they come down to small margins. In 2011, the Dockers and the Eagles came together at Subiaco Oval for a typically fierce encounter. There was nothing in it all day, with the lead switching hands and neither side able to make the decisive break. Freo led by three points at quarter time, the Eagles led by a point at the half, then West Coast booted 3.7 to 3.1 to lead by seven with a quarter left. It was still in the balance inside the final minute with the Eagles ahead by two points. Repeat stoppages ran the clock down as the crowd roared and the Dockers got desperate. Finally, Tendai Mzungu was awarded a mark, 80m from goal on the wing. There were 10 seconds left when Mzungu kicked to a contest, the ball was spoiled, but Hayden Ballantyne was given a controversial free. The siren went as Ballantyne lined up from the left forward pocket. His drop punt looked pure as it went towards goal. A pack formed on the line, but the ball looked like it was through, and Ballantyne wheeled away, celebrating with his fist in the air. But the umpires disagreed; the ball had hit the padding on the post, and a distraught Ballantyne lay on the ground as the Eagles celebrated wildly. For 23 seasons, the Adelaide Crows called Football Park home, while Port Adelaide did the same for 17 years. In August 2013, the Crows and Power played their last Showdown at the ground, before games switched to the revamped Adelaide Oval the following season. If anyone had worried whether the two sides could put on a fitting show for the final Showdown at West Lakes, they needn't have been concerned. Showdown 35 was a ripper of a game. It wasn't just the big names who made an impression that day. Along with Patrick Dangerfield and Robbie Gray (four and three goals respectively), there were the likes of Lewis Johnston, who booted four for the Crows, and Angus Monfries, who kicked two for the Power. The Crows led early, but Port Adelaide grabbed the momentum in the second quarter, setting up a 21-point lead at the half. Then it was Adelaide's turn to make a charge, kicking seven goals to two in the third term to lead by 12. The game tightened again in the last, but with 90 seconds left, Port Adelaide still needed two scores to win. The ball fell to former Essendon player Monfries on the edge of 50, and his left-foot shot was going wide for a point. But suddenly it spun savagely back at an incredible angle to somehow go through for a goal, as the umpire hastily back-pedalled to signal a major. The final frantic stages saw the Power attacking, and Monfries chipped high across 50 for Chad Wingard to mark in front. The 19-year-old kicked down the middle for his fifth goal of the day, and Port Adelaide had stolen it at the end. A remarkable finale for the concrete jungle at Football Park. The Crows had turned around Port Adelaide's lead in Showdowns, and by late 2018, they had won five of the last six editions. So the Power came out at Adelaide Oval wanting to improve the ledger. And it was a high-scoring first quarter with five goals apiece, with three goals to Port's Kane Farrell and two to Adelaide's Josh Jenkins. Port Adelaide got on top in the second quarter, with two goals each to Robbie Gray and Chad Wingard to give the Power a nine-point edge at the break. It was tight all the way, with no one being able to break the game open, and there was just a point between them at three-quarter-time. The final term was back and forth, with Wingard getting two early goals, but the Crows hanging in there as the quarter went on. They hit the front through Matt Crouch, before the Power answered again to lead for most of the time-on. Eddie Betts brought Adelaide within four points, then Ollie Wines's checkside missed everything to keep the Crows in it. It came down to a forward entry for Adelaide with the ball bouncing near the square. It fell to Jenkins, who picked it up, stepped, and snapped inside the left goalpost. It was close, but the umpire signalled a goal — and the Crows would win by three points. After the game, Jenkins was asked about the goal, and admitted: 'My grandma raised me to tell no fibs. I think that it hit the post … but I'm pretty happy they [the umpires] didn't think so." Some people criticise the Sydney Derby, saying it lacks the edge of the Showdown or Western Derby, but some of the best encounters between the two sides have come in finals. Four years ago, as the league tried to deal with COVID, the Swans-Giants elimination final was held at York Park in Launceston, with no home ground advantage for the sixth-placed Swans. It started in typical fashion, with an arm-wrestle of a game that saw scores level at quarter-time. But then the Giants blew the game open with a six-goal second term, as Toby Greene had three to half-time with GWS leading by 23. On a grey old day in northern Tasmania, the Giants extended the lead to 29 before Sydney started to bridge the gap. A major to Tom Papley and two to Isaac Heeney gave the Swans hope, but Jesse Hogan kicked a late one to make it 18 points at the last change. The final quarter was all the Swans, as Sydney threw everything at their rivals. GWS's only score came from a behind at the five-minute mark. From there, Heeney booted two quick goals to bring the lead back to seven, with plenty of time left. But as they mounted attack after attack, the Swans kept missing. When Buddy Franklin's set shot from 50 swung left, it was a two-point game with under three minutes left. Justin McInerney's dribble kick from 20 out wobbled goalward, but the Giants rushed it over to make it one point. Try as they might, the Swans couldn't get their chance, and fittingly, the ball was in Greene's hands as the siren went, triggering huge celebrations for GWS.
