THE Brisbane Lions have announced that Matthew Leuenberger and Dayne Zorko have both signed contract extensions with the club.
Leuenberger’s new deal adds two years to his contract while Zorko’s is for three additional years.
“I was pretty keen to get it over and done with quite quickly,” said Leuenberger on his new deal.
“I like the idea of being a one-club player and loyalty, and it’s something I hold in high value, so I wanted to hang around.
“There’s a lot of young kids here and I think that’s the most attractive thing about our list at the moment.
“There’s some real talented individuals coming through, I feel, and I haven’t had too much success here so I want to come through with those blokes.”
Leuenberger, 25, joined the Lions as the 4th overall pick of the 2006 National Draft. The ruckman made his debut in Round 14 of the 2007 season and has now played 78 games for the club in spite of the fact that he has missed a number of games to injury, including most of the 2012 campaign to a torn achilles.
Zorko, 24, was overlooked by the AFL for what seemed an eternity but was finally picked up by the Lions as a result of the Gold Coast Establishment rules.
As a native Queenslander, Zorko was eligible to be listed or traded by Gold Coast and that’s just what happened with the Lions sending pick 34 to the Suns in exchange for Zorko and pick 47 during the 2011 Trade Period.
Zorko had a standout year for the Lions in 2012, playing in 16 games and averaging 20 disposals and 6 tackles on his way to winning the club’s Rookie of the Year award.
“Matthew and Dayne’s retention was an absolute priority for the Club,” said Lions General Manager, Football Operations, Dean Warren.
“It’s also a significant show of faith by these young men in the Club’s directions as well as fantastic news for our members and supporters.
“We’re confident they’ll be playing key roles in future success.”
The Brisbane Lions will take on Geelong at the Gabba this Sunday afternoon.
Image appears with permission by Jack McClane (Exclamat!on Photography). All rights reserved.