Player abuse, Neale and a legend’s message: Zorko tells all ahead of Lions mission

Lachie Neale has trained with a steely determination to “make amends” following a tumultuous off-season under intense scrutiny surrounding his marriage breakdown.

That was the verdict of fellow Brisbane Lions champion Dayne Zorko, who issued a warning to the competition about the preseason form of the two-time Brownlow Medallist.

Euphoria from the club’s second-straight AFL premiership was swiftly replaced by the high-profile split between Neale and wife Jules, which dominated headlines over the summer months.

Neale has since stood down as co-captain, and told a media pack in January he accepted responsibility for his family situation. 

Since then, Zorko has seen a fire in Neale build as the season approaches.

Speaking ahead of the launch of the documentary series The Final Siren: Inside the AFL – to be released on Prime Video on February 27 – the 37-year-old told this masthead the squad had not been derailed by the harsh light shone on their former skipper and broader criticism of the team’s culture.

And, he added, Neale had not given any indication the backlash would dictate his 2026 season.

“He’s obviously a proud athlete and wants to do his absolute best for the team, and the response I’ve seen throughout preseason has been pretty incredible,” Zorko said.

“He looks like he’s a man who’s determined and wants to make amends, so that’s great for us and probably scary for the opposition.

“For us, it’s just about supporting him as best we can, supporting all parties as best we can, and making sure we as a team get the best version of Lach still. From what I’ve seen so far, we’re certainly getting that.

“It doesn’t have any effect on us as players because it’s not our personal life. Our job is to just get on with our work, it’s our job – we understand what that is, we’ve been really good at making our goals clear in previous years and executing them, and this preseason’s been no different.”

The four-part documentary series will delve into several AFL stars’ lives, and tackle areas that have occasionally besmirched the code – among them the social media abuse directed at players.

Zorko’s involvement in the series includes reflections on incidents that have triggered public vitriol, having been involved in “altercations here and there between certain players”.

His battles have included Suns star Touk Miller and Collingwood’s Mason Cox last year.

“I’ve been a person who wouldn’t necessarily say that’s affected me too much,” Zorko said.

“Don’t get me wrong, you look at it, and you’re really disappointed at times, but I guess the more of the impact it can actually have on your home life and your family and loved ones is probably what hits me the hardest.”

Zorko stressed he was experienced to handle the “absolute vile stuff that comes out of people’s fingers” he had received, but younger athletes may allow such abuse – including death threats and racial vilification – to burden them.

He has become even more passionate about the issue now he is a father. Should more players continue their careers until his age, many may have teenage children exposed to the commentary directed at their fathers.

“I see my teammates after a game, they check their phones or send to our group chat messages people have sent them,” Zorko said.

“It’s just annoying because we don’t get the opportunity to then go to their workplace when they have a bad workday and say ‘that brick isn’t laid straight’ or ‘you’ve stuffed up in that book’.

“Someone a little bit older and experienced can deal with that, but maybe a younger 18 or 19-year-old can’t, and we’ve seen that with instances in the AFL already.

“The opportunity to display the home life and the person we, as athletes, are away from the field is really important, and then hopefully people can make a proper assessment and judgment, instead of just jumping behind their keyboards and making their opinions off a game of football.”

The two-time All-Australian laughed when questions about a potential retirement were directed his way. “I’ll know when the time is right,” he said.

But a message from Brisbane legend Simon Black – who won three-straight premierships, before the club reached just one finals series between 2005 and 2019 – had encouraged him to capitalise on the Lions’ current window.

“I remember him saying to me, he wished he had success at the back-end of his career because he probably didn’t value it as much as he did at the start,” Zorko said.

“I did a lot of losing at the start of my career. We’re in a real sweet spot, we all understand that and want to maximise this as much as possible, and I certainly want to be a part of it.

“I’ll just keep going until they wheel me out in a wheelchair.”

Zorko said until he decided to draw the curtain, he needed to help ensure the next generation were well-equipped.

“These young kids coming through have a responsibility to keep driving those standards forward once us older boys do retire,” he said.

“We’ve stressed to them already this isn’t going to be forever, but while we’re in this situation let’s cash in and make the absolute most of it.

“We really want to be clear that we don’t want to bottom out like we have in the past.”

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