If timing is everything in football, then the Brisbane Lions would be privately seething with the sudden growth of their pre-season injury toll.
But Dayne Zorko is looking on the bright side of the AFL club's unfortunate summer plight, which took another turn for the worse on the weekend.
On Saturday, the Lions confirmed defender Ryan Harwood and young forward Jono Freeman will each spend the next three months on the sidelines.
Harwood had surgery on Monday to address abdominal and groin pain while Freeman went under the knife on Thursday night to repair a bulging disc in his back.
Their news comes after vice-captain Pearce Hanley's recovery timeline from his hip injury blew out by an extra six weeks, keeping him out of the AFL season until halfway through.
If Zorko was feeling frustrated by the Lions' glut of injuries in the back half of the pre-season, he did a good job of not showing it.
"It just gives more opportunity I think," he said on Monday.
"Our pre-season to date was pretty good on the injury front.
"Obviously Pearce and Ryan especially are probably two certain starters in our side, you'd say.
"For them to go down now (is disappointing).
"But as I said, it gives opportunity for the younger kids to come in and make it hard for them to come back into the side once they're fit."
In any case, Brisbane need look no further than Lewy Taylor for proof of what can be done without a full pre-season.
Taylor, pick no.28 in the 2013 AFL Draft, spent most of his first summer with the Lions recovering from foot surgery.
He then went on to play every game in a stunning debut season and snagged the AFL Rising Star award.
"You've got to expect injuries and that kind of thing," Taylor said.
"It's not ideal going into the start of the season but what happens is what happens.
"Me personally, coming in with an injury wasn't ideal.
"But I did a lot of stuff off the field that people didn't see to get myself right for round 1.
"Those guys will be back soon enough and we think we have enough depth to fill their positions."
At the moment, Taylor is injury-free and feeling "10 times better" than he did this time last year.
"I've come in with a different mindset, I suppose - I know what to expect," he said.
"I've got most of the pre-season under my belt, I'm running well.
"I'm just keen for the games to come around. It is (dragging), we can't wait."
Share
