Brisbane captain Dane Zurko says he expects to play in both pre-season matches despite tore his hamstring last week.
The 34-year-old had caught the eye with his slender build and increased his running power in his 12th pre-season at the club but missed an indoor game on Friday and could miss a second time this week at the Lions’ new Brighton Homes Arena. headquarters.
“It’s a bit of a setback but nothing to be overly concerned about – I’ve been feeling it for a couple of weeks, so naturally we wipe these things up and found a few tears in there,” Zorko said on SENQ.
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“Fingers crossed I missed (Friday’s home game) and that’s it.”
Zorko said he was concerned that an injury from his work might affect his troublesome Achilles tendon, which has held him back in recent seasons.
“The best part is that I was able to run the whole time, so I was able to keep up with the load on the Achilles tendon, which was really important and something I was worried about maybe a little bit in the start,” he said.
Zorko said Brisbane manager Chris Fagan had remained “calm, calm and composed” as he awaited the end of the independent investigation into allegations of racism at Hawthorn.
“He’s really active in the group as ever, and we as players really appreciate that,” said Zorko.
Fagan is tasked with strengthening the Lions defence, which Zorko said has been a focus for the club during pre-season after a “really bad” 12 months.
“I think defensively last year, we leaked a lot of points,” he said.
“There were three or four games where we conceded more than 100 points, and in previous years we didn’t.
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“Keeping teams under a certain amount, whether it’s 10 goals or 11 goals, that’s about the number that seems to win the Premiership… Geelong did it last year, Melbourne did it the year before, so it’s really important that we try to make it happen.” “
Zorko, who is confident he will play in the Lions’ zero-sum game against Sydney on February 24, is no guarantee of captaining the Lions again in 2023, with Harris Andrews and Hugh McCluggage being seen in the role.
Brisbane are also dealing with several injury concerns for key defenders, with Darcy Gardiner (shoulder) and Jack Payne (illness) working towards returns in Brisbane’s second training match against Geelong on 2 March after Marcus Adams was placed on the inactive list due to concussion symptoms. .
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Premiership tiger striped
Richmond forward Jason Castagna is set to miss the start of the 2023 AFL season after he tore his hamstring in training.
The club confirmed Tiger’s three-time Premier League injury on Monday.
“Unfortunately, Jason Castagna suffered what we believe to be a mid-term hamstring tear during Saturday’s game,” the club said in a statement.
He will begin rehab later this week.
It is a blow for Castagna after he has been looking to cement his place in the side after a lean 2022 season.
The striker made only 16 appearances as he instead spent time in the VFL.
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Attackers are getting mixed injury news
Essendon duo Matt Guelfe and Ben Hobbs have been ruled out of the team’s training match against the Gold Coast later this month.
Guelfi has been sidelined since scans revealed a calf strain last week.
But in some positive news for the striker, he’s back running as he rebuilds his first-round fitness.
But the news is not positive for Hobbs, after he suffered a mild tear in his calf.
The club says Hobbs reported a calf strain last week, with an MRI scan confirming the injury.
“Penn has completed the full pre-season up to this point and we expect him to recover quickly,” said General Manager Performance Daniel McPherson.
“His calf has settled quickly and he will only require a small load offload before he enters the program again in the coming weeks.”
The Bombers will encounter the Sun on February 23.
