IN A YEAR when high-profile recruits and high-end draft talent have stolen the show, Dayne Zorko reminded everyone on Saturday night how crucial he was to Brisbane's progress.

In the first six rounds of the season the Brisbane skipper has quietly compiled another excellent campaign, leading the AFL in pressure acts and goal assists and ranking top-10 in tackles.

Perhaps he hadn't reached the heights of his 2017 All Australian season, but Zorko was doing almost everything asked of him by coach Chris Fagan.

LIONS' DROUGHT-BREAKING WIN Full match details and stats

But it all faded into the background underneath an avalanche of Lachie Neale disposals, Lincoln McCarthy highlights and Hugh McCluggage class and improvement.

Against Sydney on Saturday night, though, it was Zorko who stood tallest in the wet conditions.

The four-time best and fairest winner tallied 29 disposals, 11 clearances, 11 tackles and kicked the goal that iced the 22-point win.

WATCH Chris Fagan's full post-match media conference

Fagan said he thought Zorko played like "he had a little less pressure on him" after playing his 150th match against Gold Coast and arch-rival Touk Miller seven days earlier.

"He's a tremendous player, Zorks, in all the facets of the game – skills, wins the footy, pressure – and we saw it all on display tonight," Fagan said.

"Arguably his best game for the year I think and hopefully that's a sign that he's going to really get going now.

"He's playing a great role for the team as our captain and he sets a great example in so many areas."

Zorko by no means played a lone hand as the Lions pummelled Sydney at the coalface, winning the contested possession count 184-142, leading to a 77-40 inside 50 advantage.

Despite wasting numerous opportunities in front of goal, Brisbane's performance in breaking a 10-year drought against the Swans was first class.

"There are a lot of things that you need to do to beat Sydney, and we did all of them tonight," Fagan said.

"We won through playing a bit of a surge game in conditions that probably, well, since I've been here, we probably haven’t been all that good at.

"It's probably just a little sign of our development, that we were able to adapt tonight and played the sort of game required to win in those conditions."

Despite moving to a 5-2 record and being well and truly entrenched in the top eight, Fagan said he had not readjusted his expectations and would mark his team's progress at season's end.