Polarising stars to reignite ugly feud on grand final day
Hostilities between Mason Cox and Dayne Zorko are set to resume on the biggest stage of them all on Saturday, one year on from their on-field scrap that cost the Brisbane star $5000.
Usually when players go at it on the field, it’s just white-line fever. Players rarely have genuine dislike for one another once the match comes to an end. They tend to shake hands and move on.
The pair went at it last year. Getty, ESPN
But Zorko and Cox, two of the game’s more polarising figures, clearly have lasting disdain for one other.
And when Fremantle and Brisbane meet on grand final day, they will clash once again.
The animosity stems from the 2025 preliminary final. Cox, playing for Collingwood at the time, won a free kick on Zorko inside 50 and booted the first goal of the game.
As he tends to do, the 211cm giant ran straight at the Lions defender to rub it in his face.
Zorko was not a fan of it, ripping at Cox’s protective eyewear and pulling it off his head. The ruck-forward wears the glasses after undergoing six different eye surgeries following a torn retina suffered in 2019.
Zorko was not suspended for the incident, but copped a $5000 fine.
In the aftermath, Zorko wasn't particularly fussed, given the Lions won the game, but stood by defending himself.
“If a seven-foot guy comes running at you in the streets, what are you going to do?” Zorko told SEN at the time.
“It doesn’t really make sense to me that someone can initiate it, then you’re just standing up for yourself and protecting yourself.
“Should I have grabbed his glasses? Probably not. However, it is what it is. I mean, you can see the AFL are having such a great year with all this stuff (fining players) that a $5000 fine seems suitable. Yeah, it is what it is.”
A week later Zorko won the grand final.
Cox, however, made things personal, calling into question Zorko’s character days after the ugly incident.
"Dayne Zorko is someone you can sometimes get in the head of. He was the person that gave away the free kick, so I was like if I can get in his head a little bit, why not?" Cox told ESPN.
"I kicked the goal and darted a few eyes to try and find him and just went at him.
Mason Cox now plays for Fremantle. Getty Images
"He's a kind person, he's a great role model, a person I think I would be great friends with … are all things I would NOT say about Dayne Zorko. I'll be honest with you.
"Look, I don't think he's the favourite player of a lot of people, including myself. He's a great player, I respect his ability on the field, but yeah, that's all I'll say. The rest is pretty obvious."
One person who was not happy with Zorko at the time was former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire.
"It should have been a free kick to Cox, so there's another goal at a critical moment," McGuire told Nine at the time.
"And they fined him $5000; they should have fined (Zorko) $50,000.
"Mason Cox has nearly gone blind on two occasions… (Zorko) went for his eyes."
Asked by Nine’s Today in December if he would be buying Cox a new pair of goggles for Christmas, Zorko laughed.
"He's on the naughty list," he said.
Dayne Zorko has his fair share of rivals in the AFL, including Gold Coast’s Touk Miller. Fox Footy
Teammate Lachie Neale chimed in: “What (Zorko) did put him on the nice list”. Zorko laughed: “According to some”.
Cox was delisted by Collingwood following last season and signed with Fremantle, where he has carved out a role for himself playing secondary ruck and forward.
He was excellent late in the Dockers’ prelim win over Sydney, kicking a goal and having an influence in the ruck.
Zorko meanwhile remains one of the more damaging half backs in the competition. It’s inevitable they will come across one another’s path once again on Saturday.
The question is whether we will get another round of fireworks.
