Brisbane veteran Dayne Zorko is predicting plenty of fireworks when the Lions cross paths with star West Coast recruit Brandon Starcevich in Saturday night's clash in Perth.
Starcevich won two flags at Brisbane across his 132-game stint there, before moving to West Coast at the end of last season.
A serious calf injury delayed Starcevich's start at the Eagles, but the 26-year-old has played the past five games and looms as a key figure against his former teammates.
Zorko is well known for his ability to unleash a sledge, but he revealed Starcevich also has plenty of fire in him.
"He probably knows which buttons to push on a few of our forwards, and I know a few of our forwards know which buttons to press on him," Zorko said.
"I mean, they had some fiery duels over the last few years in match practice, don't worry about that.
"If it's a close game, you probably expect that there will be some words exchanged. We've got a few tricks up our sleeve."
Brandon Starcevich slots his first goal as an Eagle 🦅@Toyota_Aus | #ohwhatafeeling | #AFLEaglesCrows pic.twitter.com/6vgMKgdX0Q
— AFL (@AFL) July 3, 2026
Zorko praised Starcevich's input at the Lions, and he's glad to see his friend playing football again after the hard-nosed defender suffered a number of concerning concussions while at Brisbane.
"It was pretty serious there for a while. It's just great to see him back out there enjoying football again," Zorko said.
"He was an absolute pillar of our defence for seven or eight years."
Former West Coast captain Oscar Allen hasn't made the trip to Perth, despite recovering from a foot fracture.
Instead, Allen has been named to line up for the Lions' VFL side against Sydney on Friday night.
"He tried very hard to get on the flight, but I think the best thing for his recovery and his return to football at AFL level is to get some games under his belt," Zorko said.
"He's missed a lot of football in the last three years, and he's aware of that.
"For the direction that we're heading to this year, we need him to be at his absolute best in the next five or six weeks."
Zorko was sidelined for the best part of two months this year with a quad injury, but the 37-year-old is on track to sign a one-year contract extension for 2027.
"If anything, I think the silver lining in it all is it's going to allow me to play even longer," Zorko said of his recent injury.
"Seventy games of footy over the last three years is a fair toll on anyone's body.
"But missing the last eight weeks or so has been quite refreshing. I've been able to get my body into really good shape."
