Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko has given an insight into the Lions’ off-season, saying they’re “desperate” to go deeper in the 2022 season.
The Lions have finished in the top four the past three years, however they have not made a Grand Final in that time.
They narrowly missed out on a Preliminary Final in 2021, falling to the Western Bulldogs by a point in the Semi-Finals, and Zorko says the players are doing everything they can to improve.
“What I’m seeing at the club at the moment is a team that is desperate to do better than what they have done in previous years,” Zorko told SEN’s Pat and Heals.
“The amount of players that I saw in the gym yesterday and I’ve seen right throughout the whole off-season, I don’t think a club can match it.
“Everyone has walked through that gym at some stage in the last eight weeks.
“I think the coaches are like, ‘What’s going on? You guys are here all the time and you’re still coming in on your holidays’.”
The five-time best and fairest skipper named 27-year-old ruckman Oscar McInerney as one to watch next year.
“I don’t think Oscar McInerny has missed a day since he’s finished, it’s phenomenal.
“He’s in there every single day, our general manager of football is like, ‘Go home mate’.
“He’s desperate to prove a point.
“He wants to be the number one ruckman in the competition I’d imagine.
“Every year he’s grown and grown and gotten better, and there’s probably a couple in front of him that he wants to prove wrong.”
Two other best 22 regulars that are hoped to take the club forward next year are Cam Rayner and Eric Hipwood.
Rayner, a former number one pick, ruptured his ACL in a pre-season game and couldn't play the entire season, while Hipwood suffered the same injury in July to miss the club’s last eight games, including two crucial finals.
“Those two were in the gym yesterday, Cam’s looking really, really fit … he’ll be right day one of pre-season, he’ll be back December 6,” Zorko said.
“Eric is into his second week of running, very, very slow, but he’s been doing plenty of weights.
“Which is probably the area that Eric needs to focus on, get a little bit stronger, but he’s tracking really well.
“With the bigger guys, they (physios) really do take their time, make sure the ACL is structurally perfect because they are susceptible for it to happen again.”
Brisbane also has picks 14 and 18 in the first round of the AFL National Draft.
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