Serious games of golf are keeping Brisbane grounded despite hype around the team reaching new heights this AFL off-season.
Incumbent captain Dayne Zorko is one of 16 Lions players and staff with a membership at Brisbane Golf Club who plays off for a monthly jacket and Gabba bragging rights.
This isn't your average social hit - Gold Coast recruit Jarryd Lyons is the lowest marker with a handicap of five while sledging and banter is left until the 19th hole.
Perennial bridesmaid Zorko has collected four seconds from the 10 jackets contested and says the pursuit is a perfect distraction for his tight knit side.
"Golf's a sport that you probably never perfect and I think that's why we love it so much," Zorko said.
"It takes your mind off it (football) and makes you think about something different.
"We're all fairly serious about it, so unless someone's going really badly we're really committed to it (and don't sledge)."
Zorko is serious about his side's top-eight hopes this year too, happy to put a top-eight goal on record 40 days out from their season opener against West Coast.
"No doubt about that; we feel we can do that," he said of the likelihood of the club's first finals foray in a decade.
"We've made some great inroads in last few years; this year we want to go a step further than that.
"It's a great place to come and work each day with no cliques, everyone's equal and wants to be successful."
A 5-17 record last season featured five losses by seven points or less, while the addition of Lachie Neale and improvement of their young contingent has bred plenty of optimism.
"We need to learn from those games where we faltered by a goal or a little more and how we can get those goals back," Zorko said.
"There is a lot of hype but being in Queensland it doesn't reach us as much as it would in Melbourne.
"We just have to keep coming in and working hard; the games aren't here yet so there's not a lot else we can do."
