DEFIANT Brisbane Lions vice-captain Dayne Zorko has thrown his support behind Justin Leppitsch, saying the relationship between the coach and his players has never been better.
Reports have circled the Lions in the past week suggesting that unrest between senior players and Leppitsch – but after categorically those rumours, Zorko got on the front foot regarding the coach's relationship with his players.
"Unless you're inside the four walls you don't understand what really goes on," Zorko said.
"We've got a lot of trust and a lot of belief in Leppa and he's doing a really great job at the moment.
"These rumours started to happen at this time last year as well, but I can dismiss that right now.
"Things are as strong as they've ever been at the club.
"The playing group stands right behind Leppa, even the senior players."
Zorko said the acquisition of welfare manager Craig Lambert – a long-time ally and staunch Leppitsch supporter – had made a big difference.
He said although the coach could be harsh on occasions – he has needed to be with a 1-14 record – Leppitsch had been positive through a rough year.
Zorko said it was up to the entire playing group to prove the critics wrong, starting with a strong performance against Greater Western Sydney on Sunday.
"It's great to have so many young kids coming through, and as senior players I think we'd all like to be playing a little better … but inside our four walls, what the senior players are doing is phenomenal," he said.
"We want to stand really strong as a playing group and I think this weekend we'll eliminate those glimpses of 10 or 15 minutes where we just look uninterested.
Following Multicultural Round last weekend, the Lions' Australia Post Multicultural Player Ambassador Dayne Zorko and Reuben William joined 60 children from St Mary of the Cross who will attend this weekend's game v GWS Giants.
Many of the students have migrated from Sudan, Poland, Sri Lanka, India Zimbabwe, Nepal, New Zealand and the Phillipines with Reuben's younger brother Dom attending the school.
The Multicultural Development Association (MDA) were in attendance to share their #CreateWelcome campaign - a social movement inspiring people to create messages of welcome and belonging for newly arrived Queenslanders, including refugees, people seeking asylum, migrants and international students.
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