Brisbane midfielder Dayne Zorko's path to the AFL stage has been different than most Brisbane midfielder Dayne Zorko must continue working hard to improve on his stellar debut season. A BRISBANE Lions official said this week Dayne Zorko walks around the club as if he was drafted yesterday. This wasn't meant to be disparaging to the 2012 sensation. "He is still that excited to be playing AFL footy and can't believe his luck," the official said. The man himself, 24 last month, laughs when told of the remark. But he speaks as if he is still living in a dreamland and loving every minute. "Obviously my pathway was a little bit different to everyone elses," Zorko said. I understand how hard I had to work for it and I'm just very thankful to the Brisbane Lions for the opportunity. I'm so excited to be here. Dayne Zorko attacks the football. DANNY Craven was Zorko's Queensland coach at the 2007 under 18 national championships. Craven, a 58-game player with St Kilda and Brisbane in the early '90s, said being a "fellow little guy that played league footy" he always had a soft spot for his U18 captain. "He was a good junior all the way through, but I don't think anyone really believed he would go on to be a great AFL player because everyone seems to think you need to be 6ft 1in and run like the wind today," Craven said. He was certainly talented, but he certainly wasn't a standout because no body drafted him. It was being overlooked in his first draft, 2007, that hurt the most, Zorko said. He'd spoken to a couple of league clubs, dreamed of what might be, and then there was nothing. In the next couple of years I kind of just floated through the seasons at Broadbeach and thought: 'Is my time done? Is it all finished?'," Zorko said. Whether he was floating through or not, by the end of the 2010 season the Broadbeach captain had won three consecutive club best and fairest awards. Yet the silence from AFL clubs remained deafening. He wasn't being challenged at Broadbeach and, as club president Geoff Bower said, he was being held to a different standard -- which wasn't helping anyone. It was time for a change. Bower, who had seen Zorko play since he was a 13-year-old at Surfers Paradise, knew the club's star player was capable of more. And so a 2010-11 summer of change was not only going to help turn the club around, it would help Zorko too. Zorko would turn up, quite regularly, well after Christmas and after playing fifth grade cricket and say 'I'm here' and everyone would think 'isn't that great? He's here'," Bower said. But we said, 'no, we need to challenge you and for everyone to go to the next level, not just you, this is what you need to do'. A key change was the hiring of coach Matt Angus and fitness boss Gary Fox. Instantly Angus knew Zorko's talents were equal to the likes of Collingwood's Harry O'Brien and Alan Toovey who he'd coached at WAFL colts side Claremont, but his professionalism was "nowhere near that." Zorko was "flat," Angus said. "The previous year he'd done a pre-season beginning in February, two weeks before we started playing matches," Angus said. And that's probably where the flatness comes in. If you were really excited and upbeat about your footy -- irrespective of whether you're going to get drafted or not -- you'd want to do those extras anyway. I think getting his enjoyment back for footy and having a crack was really important. Brisbane forward Dayne Zorko takes the bull by the horns. Picture: Mark Calleja Source: Herald Sun Angus said Fox and Zorko hit it off instantly -- with the midfielder even turning up to Fox's house regularly to do extra boxing sessions. Another change Angus made was to relieve Zorko of the captaincy. Whether it was that, or because Angus was taking Zorko out of his comfort zone, Bower said the coach and star player had been prone to "clashing heads" early. But that soon changed, to the point where now Angus labels Zorko as a close friend. "He knew I was trying to do the right thing by him irrespective," Angus said. And when we bumped heads we did so because we were competitive, but we both wanted the best thing and we didn't clash after round four or five that year. The reasons Zorko was overlooked in four consecutive drafts are varied. Too small. Awkward running style. Not enough tricks. But a 23-possession, four-goal best on ground performance for Queensland against Western Australia that year made recruiters take notice. Another best and fairest for Broadbeach, his fourth in a row, sealed the deal. The rest, as they say, is history. I have no doubt that if it wasn't for Matt Angus and Gary Fox he'd still be playing football at Broadbeach. Absolutely no doubt," Bower said. Angus said Bower's praise was nice, but insisted Zorko's turnaround was all of his own making. "Dayne made a decision, and it took courage, to get outside his comfort zone and go for it," Angus said. Even though he'd been overlooked four years in a row, he still was prepared to do that. And that's not anyone else, that's him making that decision. ZORKO pauses when asked if he would still have been playing locally had the Lions not offered him a lifeline. "I guess so," he said. I've always just loved playing football so I would have kept giving it my all for Broadbeach and hopefully would have developed a little career out of that. Now, after bursting on to the scene averaging 100 Champion Data ranking points in his first 16 outings, the challenge is to go to another level this year. I guess it's just about carrying that confidence from last year and keeping the confidence in my body that I've had all pre-season and just go out there and do my bit for the team. There's not really any expectations. FOUR POINTS -- about Dayne Zorko 1.The Zorko name is Yugoslavian. His Dad was born there and moved to Melbourne as a youngster before shifting to the Gold Coast at 18. Zorko's nickname at Broadbeach was "Tinka." "It's a family story from when I was way back little and has stuck with me the whole way," Zorko said. Broadbeach legend has it that it comes from his Tinkerbell-esque dancing style as a kid. In five seasons at Broadbeach and one at the Brisbane Lions Zorko has never played finals. Despite playing only 13 games, Zorko was this summer elevated to the Lions leadership group.