Latest news with #Brisbane Lions
News.com.au
12 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Brisbane Lions focused on Suns, not top spot, says veteran Dayne Zorko
Brisbane veteran Dayne Zorko has promised the Lions won't again fall into the trap of becoming preoccupied with how high they can finish on the AFL ladder despite being in contention to win the minor premiership. 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 â�¤ï¸�â€�🩹ðŸ�¡ — 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.'
News.com.au
7 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Brisbane forward Linc McCarthy edging closer towards goal of being available for AFL finals series
As 'crazy' as Linc McCarthy's attempt to fast-track his recovery from a knee reconstruction to be part of Brisbane's finals campaign is, Lions coach Chris Fagan will give the veteran forward every chance to play a role in the club's bid for back-to-back premierships. McCarthy, 31, hasn't played for the Lions since May last year when he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during a Brisbane win over the Gold Coast Suns at the Gabba. Before he could make his playing return, he suffered the same injury at a training session on March 5 this year. However, rather than undergo the usual surgery and recovery, which would have ruled him out of appearing in a grand final for a second time should Brisbane reach the 2025 decider, McCarthy is understood to have gone the non-traditional route by having the torn ACL replaced with a graft from the patella tendon rather than the hamstring tendon. It gave McCarthy – whose contract expires at the end of the season – the chance to make a quicker comeback, and so far, things have gone to plan. He has rejoined the main group for skills training, has increased his training volume and could be available to play in four weeks, which would be less than six months after suffering the second knee injury. 'He's definitely ramping up his training, and he joined in some skills the other day, and I thought 'that's happened quickly', but he's going along OK at the moment,' Fagan said of McCarthy. 'It's a day-by-day, week-by-week thing, but he's trying to give himself the best chance to get back and be available if we are good enough to make finals. 'He's incredibly desperate. That's why he's doing it. I look at him and thinking 'you're crazy', but he wants to try, and I don't want to stop him, so that's where all that's at.' McCarthy would add further depth to Brisbane's forward line should he become available before the end of the season. Tall forward Sam Day is again available for selection on Friday night when second-placed Brisbane host the Western Bulldogs after missing last week's win over Carlton for personal reasons. Should Day return, it's likely to be at the expense at one of the Lions' two ruckmen – Oscar McInerney or Darcy Fort. The Lions will have to make at least two changes to their 23-player match-day squad, with midfielder-forward Zac Bailey suspended and defender Noah Answerth ruled out for the season after suffering a ruptured achilles tendon in the win over the Blues. However, Fagan said star half-back Keidean Coleman would not be one of the replacements as he continued his return from a quad injury in Brisbane's VFL team. 'Good form and be able to play quarters of football,' Fagan said when asked what he wanted to see from Coleman in the reserves team before recalling him to the senior side. The Lions can put a dent in the Bulldogs' hopes of playing finals football with a win on Friday. 'Generally speaking, they've been good defensively, albeit that's the criticism of them at the moment, but I reckon they would have done a bit of work on that this week, so I'm expecting a good all-round game from the Bulldogs,' Fagan said.
