Lions skipper Dayne Zorko on Saturday night will end the longest wait in club history for a taste of finals football.

In a fitting reward for a player who has done so much to lift the Lions out of the football doldrums, Zorko will make his finals debut in his 167th game in the qualifying final sell-out against Richmond.

The four-time Merrett/Murray Medallist has had to wait 40 games longer than former record-holder Marcus Ashcroft, who played 127 games for the club before his first final in 1995.

Slotting into third spot on the same list on Saturday night, behind Zorko and Ashcroft, is ruckman Stefan Martin. He will play his first final in his 124th game for the Lions.

Darcy Gardiner (105) and Dan McStay (102), too, will join a 100-Plus Club that also includes Matthew Kennedy (111) and Jared Brennan (100).  Harris Andrews, set to play his first final in his 96th game on Saturday, will just miss.

There are two other players who played more than 100 games for Brisbane before their first final in Brisbane colors who had played finals at their previous club.

They were ex-Bears skipper and Essendon strongman Roger Merrett, who was in 147th game for the club when the Brisbane Bears played their first final in 1995, and Queensland-born ex-Fitzroy star Scott McIvor, who played his 129th Bears game on the same day.

Barring an unlikely change at selection which catapults Ryan Lester and Lewis Taylor into the side this week, Lester (126 games) and Taylor (112) will also join the list of Brisbane players who have played more than 100 games for the club without a final.

The others are ex-skipper Tom Rockliff (154), Pearce Hanley (129), John Gastev (113), Matthew Leuenberger (108), Martin Leslie (107), Rohan Bewick (103), Brad Hardie (101) and Sam Mayes (101).

Ironically, with 196-game Collingwood defender Lynden Dunn having recently announced his retirement, heading into next year Rockliff will be current AFL player who has played most games without a final.

Having quit Brisbane at the end of 2017 to join Port Adelaide, Rockliff has played 190 career games.

Port Adelaide’s Jack Watts is next on the list at 174 games, followed by another ex-Brisbane player, Pearce Hanley. Now at the Gold Coast, Hanley has played 161 games without a final.

Zorko also will become the oldest Brisbane-only player to make his finals debut in Lions colors on Saturday night.

He will be 20 days beyond his 30th birthday, surpassing Richard Champion, who was 27 years 149 days old when he played his first final in his 94th game in the club’s first final in 1995.

Other Brisbane-only players who were beyond their 25th birthday in their finals debut have been Kennedy (26/215), Josh Drummond (26/145), Jason Roe (25/176), Danny Dickfos (25/342) and Jared Brennan (25/39).

Among all Brisbane players, the durable Martin, who has played 69 games in a row since Round 21 2016, will become the club’s oldest and most experienced finals debutant.

Having joined the Lions in 2013 after five years and 57 games at Melbourne, Martin will be 32 years 294 days in his 181st career game on Saturday night.

The big ruckman will be 14 games ahead of Zorko, who joined the Lions 12 months earlier in 2012, and 29 games ahead of ex-Richmond midfielder Craig Lambert, who was 26 years 340 days old and in his 152nd AFL game when he first tasted finals football in 1995.

Alastair Lynch made his finals debut in his 150th career game in 1996. He was 28 years 79 days old.

At the other end of the scale, Cam Rayner and Zac Bailey will join the Lions’ teenage debutant club.

The 19-year-old pair will join a list which includes six 18-year-olds – Damian Cupido (18 years 161 days), Jason Akermanis (18/198), Jack Redden (18/270), Jonathan Brown (18/288), Trent Bartlett (18/288) and Daniel Bradshaw (18/290).

Rayner will be 19 years 321 days in his debut on Saturday night, and Bailey 19 years 349 days.

Others who have played finals for the club before their 20th birthday have been Nigel Lappin (19/81), Daniel Rich (19/90), Chris Scott (19/130), Des Headland (19/204), Nick Trask (19/213), Luke Power (19/239), Joel Macdonald (19/329) and Justin Leppitsch (19/344).

One and possibly two Lions players on Saturday night will make their finals debut before reaching 20 career games.

Noah Answerth, a selection lock after an outstanding first season, will do so in his 19th game.

And if he holds his spot after replacing the injured Allen Christensen in Round 23, Cedric Cox would do so in his 14th game.

Answerth and Cox would join a surprisingly long list of debutants inside 20 games that is headed by 2003 premiership player Richard Hadley. He made his finals debut in just his second game in the 2003 qualifying final and was a member of a premiership side in his fourth game.

Others to play finals before their 20th game have been Trask (5), Cupido (6), Matt Austin (7), Bartlett (8), Redden (9), Trent Knobel (9), James Hawksley (10), Headland (11), Joel Macdonald (11), Brown (12), Craig Bolton (14), Robert Copeland (15), Tim Notting (15), Akermanis (16), Marcus Picken (17), Ben Robbins (17), Shane O’Bree (18), Sam Sheldon (18), Bradshaw (19) and Tristan Lynch (19).