Collingwood forward Mason Cox has lashed Brisbane’s Dayne Zorko following a fiery clash in last Saturday’s preliminary final that resulted in a hefty fine for the Lions star.
Zorko was sanctioned $5,000 — reduced to $3,125 with an early plea — for ripping off Cox’s protective eyewear during Brisbane’s win over Collingwood to progress to the grand final.
The incident occurred after Zorko gave away a free kick for blocking Cox’s lead at the footy, with the Pies big man slotting his set shot before making a beeline for his Lions rival.
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But after the weekend’s events, Cox, who remains without a Collingwood contract for next season and is a free agent, didn’t hold back when asked for his thoughts on the dual All-Australian Lion.
“Dayne Zorko’s an important person, a person you can sometimes get in the head of … he was the guy who gave away the free kick, so I was like ‘if I can get inside his head a little bit, why not?’” explained Cox on ESPN Australia’s Red Time podcast.
“Let’s just say I darted a few eyes to find him to just go at him.
“And I’ll say this. Dayne Zorko, he’s kind, I think he’s a great man, a great role model, a person I think I’d 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, no denying that in respect to him and his ability on the football field. That’s pretty much all I’ll say around it.”
On the other side of the coin, probed for his thoughts on the incident earlier this week, Zorko was largely unapologetic about his actions.
“If a seven-foot guy comes running at you in the streets, what are you going to do?” said Zorko, who’ll play in his 15th AFL season next year.
“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 that a $5,000 fine seems suitable. Yeah, it is what it is.
“I don’t really care; I get to play in a grand final this week.”
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