Brisbane agitator Dayne Zorko has been fined for his "dangerous" act against Mason Cox's famous goggles, but is free to play in the grand final.
Early in the first quarter of the Lions' preliminary final victory on Saturday, Cox kicked the first goal of the game and then opted to get in Zorko's face about it.
The Brisbane veteran immediately responded to the push and shove by scraping down Cox's face, seemingly intent on pulling off the protective goggles the Magpie wears.
In 2022, Cox earned a medical exemption to wear the prescription goggles following a number of serious eye injuries that threatened his sight.
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Zorko copped a $5000 fine for the incident, which can be reduced to $3125 with an early guilty plea.
David King felt Zorko was "stiff" and called the fine "a bit steep" on SEN, asking: "Why does everything have to be so severe?"
But his co-host Kane Cornes called it a fair sanction.
“I think that’s fair. I thought it was dangerous,” he said.
"I don’t think you can grab and claw at someone’s eyes, particularly with the issues that Mason has had with his eyes.
“I think eyewear is out of bounds. It’s like pulling someone’s hair, not on.
“A severe penalty for a severe action.”
The 36-year-old Zorko had a very mixed afternoon against the Pies. He finished with 28 touches, eight tackles and seven marks, along with a game-high 718 metres gained.
But he also had a horror run in the second quarter when he was guilty of gifting Collingwood a succession of goals.
His act on Cox proved a big talking point on X.
One footy fan wrote: "Missed some of the game, and just saw on the news Zorko tried to remove Mason Cox’s protective glasses. Pretty s**t move to try and mess w. someone’s protective equipment. Seriously not on."
Another said: "Not a fan of what Zorko did (but) Cox could avoid a lot of hits he gets if he just didn't run into people after kicking goals. He starts 90% of fights he is in by doing that."
A third wrote: "Zorko got to be the biggest flog in the AFL and it's not even close. Cox doesn't wear those glasses by choice, he could easily be blind in one eye if another incident occurs."
A fourth added: "So the Zorko Cox incident came from Mason trying to be a token tough guy again after kicking a goal. Bloke couldn’t bruise a grape and should stop that bulls**t."
There's little doubt Zorko will attempt to bring his combative style once more when the Lions chase a second successive flag against the Cats on Saturday.