Brisbane Lions comfortable with Norwood Oval despite again missing ‘centre stage’ clash in Gather Round

Lions veteran Dayne Zorko has no complaints about Brisbane being again overlooked for a “centre stage” clash at Gather Round despite the club being the AFL’s reigning premiers. The Lions are one of just four clubs yet to be awarded an Adelaide Oval game since Gather Round’s inception in 2023. For the second successive year the Lions will play their Gather Round clash at the 10,000-capacity Norwood Oval, this time against Western Bulldogs, after beating North Melbourne at the same suburban venue last season. In the inaugural Gather Round two years ago, the Lions also defeated the Kangaroos, with that game played at Mount Barker. The venue scheduling can perhaps be regarded as an insult to Brisbane, considering Adelaide Oval will host matches on Saturday – the same day the Lions meet the Bulldogs – between 16th-placed Carlton and West Coast (18th), and Melbourne (17th) and Essendon (14th). “It’s obviously always nice to play on the centre stage, but you don’t always gets that luxury,” Zorko told SENQ. “We’re familiar with (Norwood Oval), we understand how it plays, so that’s a positive. “I like the concept of the crowd being right on top of you. The fans can really lean over the fence and give you the `what for’ – that’s always enjoyable.” The Lions adapted well to Norwood Oval – which at 165m wide and 110m long is five metres narrower than Geelong’s Kardinia Park, the narrowest of the regular AFL venues – in their 70-point win over the Kangaroos last year. Off-season father-son draft pick Levi Ashcroft, 18, was looking forward to playing at the venue for the first time. “I’ll enjoy it,” Ashcroft said. “It’s very skinny on the outsides. That’s OK, that might suit us. It might be a bit more of a contested game, but we’re happy with that. The Lions will again be without forward Kai Lohmann, who remains sidelined with an ankle injury, and are hoping to stretch their unbeaten start to the season to five matches. “It’s just about continuing with our consistency,” Ashcroft said. “In the AFL, you should be on at all times. For every minute you’re out on the ground, you should be red hot and ready to play AFL football.”