BRISBANE'S recruiting staff headed to Perth in June 2011 to watch Queensland play Western Australia in what was expected to be a one-sided state game.

The Lions were keeping an eye on their young Irish recruit Niall McKeever, who they thought was getting close to a debut.

Western Australia, picked from players in the WAFL, had handed Queensland, who selected from the NEAFL, hidings for as long as anyone could remember, and more of the same was expected at Rushton Park on this overcast Saturday afternoon.

But this time was different.

WA led by seven goals at the final change, but inspired by a diminutive rover from Broadbeach, Queensland roared home to lose by just six points.

That rover was Dayne Zorko, a then 22-year-old who had been overlooked in four national drafts and was on his way to a fourth successive best and fairest with the Cats.

Against WA he kicked four goals from 30 disposals and laid eight tackles in a dominant performance that caught the eye of Brisbane national talent manager Rob Kerr and his fellow recruiters.

"It was a pretty special day," Zorko told AFL.com.au as he prepares for his 200th AFL game against St Kilda on Saturday night.

"I know going over there 'Cotts' (Queensland coach Jason Cotter) told us that no team from Queensland had got close to beating a team from the WAFL.

"We saw that as a big opportunity, so we were quite excited by the occasion.

"I knew the Brisbane recruiters were over there watching Niall McKeever … I certainly wanted to put my best foot forward, and to have a game like that to boost my stocks was really important for me individually."

Cotter remembers the game vividly.

One of Queensland footy's most decorated figures, Cotter won nine premierships as a player and coach with Southport, two Grogan Medals, and also coached Nick Riewoldt and Dayne Beams in their draft years.

He saw something special with Zorko.

"We'd heard it before, Zork was too slow, maybe not fit enough and definitely too small, that was the opinion going around," Cotter recalled.

"But he was very clever, he knew how to find the footy and he had tricks. His height didn't matter.

"Nick (Riewoldt) had that elite drive and so did Dayne, you could see that in him. Dayne Beams was the same.

"A lot say they want to get drafted, but Dayne's actions were professional. He was a great kick, but he also had great defensive skills.

"Like Riewoldt and Beams he had that mindset of working out how to play the game based on their respective abilities."

"He is a wizard."

Zorko was a Gold Coast zone selection at the end of 2011 and was immediately on-traded to Brisbane in a three-way deal that saw the Suns acquire veteran defender Matthew Warnock from Melbourne.

The Lions had the man they'd watch tear WA apart in Mandurah.

Since making his debut in round seven, 2012 against Collingwood – as the sub – Zorko has forged a stunning career, based on a combination of explosive pace, goal sense, defensive pressure rivalled by few, and leadership.

He has also been a model of consistency, missing just seven games in that decade, three of those through suspension.

Despite the personal accolades of four Merrett-Murray medals and a 2017 All-Australian jacket, team success took a long time to come.

LADDER PREDICTOR Where will your club finish?

"I didn't consider looking for greener pastures, but I guess there was interest from other teams," Zorko said.

"For me personally I probably didn't entertain those offers, moreso because I wanted to be extremely loyal to Brisbane for giving me the opportunity.

"In the back of my mind I thought: 'They had their chance to take me, why didn't they take me when I was younger?'

"For Brisbane to actually take me as a mature-age recruit and give me the opportunity, I wanted to repay the faith they had in me.

"My heart was truly with the Brisbane Lions.

"Those first 100-120 games were a little bit difficult and you certainly thought, 'Can I keep doing this?'

"I'm glad I persevered."

Since taking over the captaincy in 2019, Zorko has led Brisbane to a semi-final and a preliminary final and again into the top four conversation in 2021.

But he's far from satisfied.

"Ultimately you play to win premierships," Zorko said.

"We're getting closer. We're not there, we keep falling a little bit short.

"There's something really special about this group. We're doing a lot of things right, there's still areas we need to clean up, but I've got so much confidence in this group we can go all the way.

"Being as low as what we were in recent years, to help build the club up and be on the top, I get goosebumps thinking about it. It's pretty cool."