Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Already buoyed by Zac Bailey’s decision to commit to the club long-term, the Lions have received a further boost ahead of their do-or-die finals battle with Adelaide on Saturday, with stalwart Dayne Zorko signing a new one-year Brisbane deal.
The Lions announced on Thursday that Zorko, who turns 38 in February, would play on for a 16th season.
The news came hot on the heels of Tuesday’s news that two-time All-Australian Bailey had rejected a $10m offer from the Crows to sign a new eight-year contract with Brisbane.
Bailey admitted it had been a tough “50-50” call on whether he would remain with the Lions or go to Adelaide.
“There was interest there (from the Crows) and something that I had to consider, but I just love it here so much, and I really wanted to get a deal done here,” he said.
“These things just take a little bit of time … but for me, there was no real rush. I was just going to take things at my own pace.
“For the first half of the year, I didn’t even really deal with it at all. I just wanted to go out there and play good footy, and that’s what I was doing.
“I see some people how they handle their contract years – some people go one way and perform really well, and some will go the other way.
“This year I’ve been able to perform to a really high standard, which has been good.
“It’s now on me to make sure I keep trying to improve and take my game to another level. There’s a lot of trust in me to perform, so now it’s on me.”
Bailey was also thrilled about Zorko extending his career by at least another years, saying he had “modelled” his game off the former Brisbane skipper.
“He has been unbelievable,” Bailey said of Zorko.
“I was able to learn a lot off him. He took over the captaincy of this club when we really needed someone to stand up, and he had a massive impact on this club and has been a leader for a lot of our young guys coming through.
“He’s had an enormous impact on this club.”
Zorko was equally as complimentary about Bailey.
“We know how good of a player he is, so for us it was just making sure first and foremost that his performances on the field stacked up, the way he was around the group, and that all the external noise and the money getting thrown his way wasn’t distracting him,” the Brisbane veteran said of the Darwin product, who turns 27 this month.“Some of the parts of the game that I’ve seen growth this year from Zac have been incredible.
“His selflessness in front of goals, the energy he brings around the group … his leadership – that’s grown tenfold in the past 12 months.”
With Bailey’s retention certain to help the Lions remain a premiership force for many years, Zorko said he was in no rush to retire.
“There’s so much growth still to be had in this team, and what we’ve been able to achieve already has been phenomenal, but I still feel there’s plenty more out there to give and to get out of this group,” he said.
“I wouldn’t be playing if I didn’t feel as though we’re in a really strong window. While we’re still in this pretty good predicament, I want to try to capitalise as much as I can.”
After the disappointment of last weekend’s heavy loss to Sydney, the Lions must win on Saturday at the Gabba to keep their dreams alive of a third successive flag.
“It just goes to show in this game, if your mindset isn’t right, you’re very vulnerable,” Zorko said.
“We had a really stern review, and the energy that we saw at training on Tuesday was really what it should be like.”
The Lions are likely to be forced into at least one change, with defender Noah Answerth not training on Thursday after suffering an ankle injury in Brisbane’s loss to the Swans.
