Brisbane Lions captain Dayne Zorko has publicly addressed his controversial sledge on Harrison Petty for the first time, saying the personal barb wasn’t unprovoked.
Zorko found himself in hot water following Brisbane’s clash with Melbourne last week when his sledge left Petty in tears during the match.
The 34-year-old’s apology to Petty came immediately after the final siren and was accepted by the Melbourne defender, and Zorko opened up on what had taken place during the fiery encounter between the two premiership contenders.
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“If I could take it back I would,” Zorko told SEN’s The Run Home with Andy & Gazey.
“I want to get across that it was an intense game and from the first bounce there was to-ing and fro-ing from both sides and players stepped up to the line all game, and I acknowledge that I stepped across that.
“It wasn’t just an unprovoked sledge and it wasn’t in isolation.”
Zorko refused to divulge the details on what sledges he’d copped from Melbourne’s players, but said they’d “potentially” crossed the line. He was unsure if the sledges in question had been used on him prior to last week’s match.
He said he realised he might’ve overstepped the mark when he re-traced his words towards Petty after Petty had made a “beeline” towards him at the end of the third quarter.
“I think a lot of things get said throughout a game, I don’t really want to dive too much into what was said,” he said.
Zorko said the entire incident could be used as an “educational piece” for both he and the broader league on the issue of sledging.
“I’m not sure sledging will ever go out of the game … but it’s important you don’t cross the line like I did,” he said.
“Moving forward I just need to be better and use this as an educational piece for me.
“The last few days haven’t been easy for myself or my family, which I’m really sorry for, but obviously understanding that on the other side of the fence it would’ve been hard for Harrison Petty and his family as well.”
Zorko’s captaincy credentials have come under fire in the wake of the incident, and he showed no inclination of wanting to step down from the role he has held since 2018.
“I have had extremely long conversations with the club hierarchy and they have heard both sides of the story,” he said.
“The captaincy is something that is really important to me and like every year that will be decided over the pre-season.”
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