Zorko’s 18th consecutive Q-Clash appearance after he watched the first three saw him take the Q-Clash record from the Suns’ 17-timer Jarrod Harbrow.
Zorko’s 21 possessions took him to 384 in Q-Clash football – ahead of ex-Lions captain Tom Rockliff (371) in the all-time Q-Clash record books. And his 20th Q-Clash goal on Saturday sees him second behind ex-Suns forward Tom Lynch.
He is also the ‘winningest’ player in Q-Clash history, having enjoyed 13 wins to sit one ahead of current teammates Daniel Rich, who played his 17th Q-Clash on Saturday to equal Harbrow in second spot overall, and Ryan Lester.
Also on Saturday Jarryd Lyons’ repeat win in the Marcus Ashcroft Medal after he did likewise in Round 9 this year made him just the second player to win the medal twice in the same year. The other was Brisbane’s Dayne Beams in 2016.
Beams heads the overall win count in the award for the player judged best afield in the Q-Clash with three, while Lyons is the fourth two-time winner alongside Pearce Hanley, who played for both clubs in the Queensland derby, ex-Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett and current Gold Coast vice-captain Touk Miller.
Other Ashcroft Medal winners have been Brisbane’s Simon Black, Rockliff, Jonathan Brown, Matthew Leuenberger, Mitch Robinson, Charlie Cameron and Lachie Neale, and Gold Coast’s Lynch, Jared Brennan and Charlie Dixon.
Lyons, too, will seemingly be well placed to jump up the Q-Clash Brownlow Medal vote list.
With votes for Q-Clash #20 and #21 to be revealed at the end of the season, Lyons has three Q-Clash Brownlow votes after polling two votes and one vote for the Lions in 2019.
Hanley heads the Brownlow Medal vote count with 10 from Rockliff (9), Beams (9), Ablett (6) and Black (6).
The Lions’ Chris Fagan equalled the Q-Clash record of inaugural Suns coach Guy McKenna with his eighth on Saturday. Now with a 7-1 record Fagan is two wins clear of ex-Brisbane coach Michael Voss (5-1).
The Lions’ resounding win after they conceded the first three goals was their sixth in a row over the Suns – a Q-Clash record – and sees the head-to-head record between the clubs stand at 15-6 to Brisbane.
After their 73-point win at Metricon Stadium in Round 9 it also means that for the third time the Lions have swept the Q-Clash. They also won both games between the clubs in 2012 and 2013. The Suns swept 2015.
The Lions are set to finish above the Suns on the ladder for the seventh time in 11 years, having done so in 2011-12-13 and 2018-19-20.
Nakia Cockatoo, who officially became the 335th Brisbane player on Saturday despite spending the entire game on the bench as the medical sub, also became the 100th Lion to play in a Q-Clash after Tom Fullarton and Madden were the 98th and 99th with their Q-Clash debut on Saturday.
Q-CLASH FACTS & FIGURES
Results: Lions 15, Suns 6.
At the Gabba: Lions 9, Suns 3.
At Metricon Stadium: Lions 6, Suns 3.
Win Sequence: SLLLL-LSLSS-LSLLS-LLLLL-L
Most Games: 18 Dayne Zorko (B), 17 Daniel Rich (B), Jarrod Harbrow (GC), 16 David Swallow (GC), 15 Ryan Lester (B), 14 Pearce Hanley (B/GC), 13 Tom Rockliff (B), Michael Rischitelli (GC), Steven May (GC), 12 Mitch Robinson (B), Touk Miller (GC), Stefan Martin (B), Tom Lynch (GC), Alex Sexton (GC).
Most Possessions: 384 Dayne Zorko (B), 371 Tom Rockliff (B), 359 David Swallow (GC), 355 Daniel Rich, 351 Pearce Hanley (B/GC), 316 Jarrod Harbrow (GC), 271 Mitch Robinson (B), 265 Touk Miller (GC), 253 Gary Ablett (GC).
Most Goals: 27 Tom Lynch (GC), 20 Dayne Zorko (B), 18 Charlie Cameron (B), Alex Sexton (GC), 16 Eric Hipwood (B), 15 Dan McStay (B), 13 Lewis Taylor (B), Harley Bennell (GC), 12 Tom Rockliff (B), Jonathan Brown (B), 11 Daniel Rich (B), Sam Day (GC), Brandon Matera (GC).
Q-Clash Coaches: 8 Chris Fagan (B), Guy McKenna (GC), 6 Michael Voss (B), Justin Leppitsch (6), Stuart Dew (GC), 5 Rodney Eade (GC), 1 Dean Solomon (GC).
Most Goals in a Q-Clash: Three players have kicked six goals in a Q-Clash – Ash McGrath in Q-Clash #1 in 2011, Gold Coast’s Charlie Dixon in Q-Clash #9 in 2015 and Brisbane’s Charlie Cameron in Q-Clash #18 in 2019.
Most Possessions in a Q-Clash: It was a ‘leather-fest’ in Q-Clash #14 in 2018 at the Gabba when Brisbane’s Tom Rockliff (47) and Pearce Hanley (47) blitzed the stats sheet in the home team’s 54-point win.
Biggest Q-Clash Win & Highest Score: In Q-Clash #18 in 2019 at the Gabba the Lions beat the Suns by 91 points at the Gabba, kicking 22-12 (144) to 8-5 (53) on the back of Charlie Cameron’s six-goal sizzler to win the medal and claim three Brownlow Medal votes.
Q-Clash Debutants: Bris: Bryce Retzlaff, Jack Crisp, Sam Mayes, Billy Evans, Reuben William, Noah Answerth. GC: Sam Day, Joey Daye, Tom Lynch, Louis Herbert, Josh Glenn, Henry Schade, Jack Bowes, Ben Ainsworth, Josh Corbett, Caleb Graham, Malcolm Rosas.
Oldest Q-Clash Players: Luke Hodge, the second-oldest Brisbane player all-time behind Alastair Lynch, is the oldest player to appear in a Q-Clash. He was 35 years 66 days in Q-Clash #18. Ex-Lion Michael Rischitelli is the oldest Suns player at 33 years 214 days in the same game.
Youngest Q-Clash Players: Lions vice-captain Harris Andrews is the youngest Q-Clash player. He was 18 years 142 when he played his third game in Q-Clash #9 in 2015. David Swallow, who was 18 years 169 in Q-Clash #1, is the youngest Sun.
Total Q-Clash Players: Brisbane 100, Gold Coast 108.
