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Zorko reveals what sparked Cox incident
Andrew Slevison • September 23rd, 2025 10:08 am
Dayne Zorko has explained what happened when he and Mason Cox scuffled at the MCG on Saturday.
The incident occurred after Cox kicked the opening goal of the Preliminary Final for Collingwood after he had been blocked by Brisbane veteran Zorko.
As Cox celebrated the goal, he and Zorko were involved in a bit of a scrap which resulted in the short-statured Lion attempting to pull the protective goggles off the head of a 211cm opponent.
The Lions defender, who received a $5,000 fine for his efforts, says he was only standing up for himself after Cox initiated contact.
“If a seven-foot guy comes running at you in the streets what are you going to do?,” Zorko said on SENQ Breakfast.
“It doesn’t really make sense to me that someone can initiate it then you’re just standing up for yourself and protecting yourself.
“Should I have grabbed his glasses? Probably not.
“However, it is what it is. I mean, you can see the AFL are having such a great year with all this stuff that a $5,000 fine seems suitable. Yeah, it is what it is.
“I don’t really care, I get to play in a Grand Final this week.”
The Lions are continuing their preparations for this Saturday’s Grand Final against Geelong.
The biggest story surrounding that is whether or not star midfielder and co-captain Lachie Neale will be ready to play after aggravating a calf injury in the Qualifying Final loss to the Cats.
Zorko says the two-time Brownlow Medallist is doing everything in his power to get up for the season decider.
“He’s done everything he could possibly do so far,” Zorko said of Neale.
“I know the medical staff didn’t give him much of a chance but he’s looked after himself really well over the last few weeks.
“We always knew that if we got to this week that it would be a headline whether or not he’d be fit. He’ll have to do some pretty hard training this week I would imagine to get the final tick of approval.
“If he does that and gets through it, you’re not going to tell a dual Brownlow Medallist that you’re not playing.”
However, Zorko does believes that if Neale doesn’t get up that the younger midfielders at the club can step up when needed as they’ve done all season.
“We’ve got four or five days before the game. We’ve got to make sure it’s as close to 100 per cent as possible,” he continued.
“We’d love to have him out there playing but if he isn’t then so be it. We’ve seen this year our younger players have stepped up and done a terrific job for us.
“We know they’re certainly capable on the big stage so that gives us confidence whatever the result (with Neale) will be.”
The Grand Final between the Lions and the Cats at the MCG kicks off at 2:30pm AEST on Saturday.
