James Slipper, Kieran Foran and Dayne Zorko compositeCredit: Nathan Perri
Dayne Zorko spent two years stifling a laugh each time he fronted the media and cameras as questions about retirement kept coming to the Brisbane Lions star.
Yet here he stands: defying Father Time as a premiership champion, and showing no signs of suffering a dramatic fade any time soon.
Zorko does not believe his heroics are a flash in the pan: he is adamant the evolution of sport science will make such exploits the norm.
The 36-year-old became the oldest player to claim an All Australian blazer last year, doing so in his new position of halfback as he sought comprehensive medical support within and outside the club.
In 2025, the performance that helped end Brisbane’s 21-year title drought has continued. His 34 disposals, seven rebound 50s, three inside 50s, and three clearances in the Lions’ most recent triumph of St Kilda showcased just how much he still has to offer as he heads into Sunday’s QClash against the Suns.
Dayne Zorko celebrates the Brisbane Lions’ 2024 premiership triumph.Credit: Getty Images
But when asked if 40 might become the new 30, with older players inking longer-term deals, Zorko suppressed a giggle.
“As you get older, you probably want to spend less time on the track and just want to play, but I’ve prided my whole career on training as much as I can. That’s how you get better, that’s how you stay in touch,” said Zorko, who comes off contract this year.
“I think going forward, we’re going to see a lot more players play up until they’re 35, 36, 37, maybe even into their 40s.
“You can’t replace experience. One thing all the guys still playing well into their 30s in the competition have got is really good experience in big games, finals, and they know what it takes to be a professional athlete.
“I don’t know about multi-year deals, but if the player wants to play on, I can’t see why they wouldn’t.”
But the evolution of sport science and player welfare, and the way it is extending careers, is not limited to the AFL.
In rugby union, Wallabies prop James Slipper has become the nation’s most capped player, with former teammate Scott Higginbotham praising him as one of the game’s most “durable” athletes.
“That’s the perfect word: durable,” Higginbotham says. “He’s achieved a lot over his whole career, it’s been achievement after achievement. It’s amazing that he’s still playing.”
In the NRL, Brisbane Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds is plotting to play on in 2026, having produced one of the finest games of his career against the Bulldogs.
Gold Coast Titans veteran Kieran Foran has also refused to rule out playing beyond 2025, despite turning 35 in June.
Kieran Foran has refused to rule out playing beyond 2025.Credit: Getty Images
Now in his 17th preseason, the stalwart of 303 NRL and 31 Test appearances revealed he had undergone 17 operations for various leg and shoulder injuries – even getting “a new ankle” late last year.
It came after a 2024 season in which he made more tackles (433) and kick metres (6235) than at any stage in his career, while only twice previously bettering his 15 try assists.
Before suffering a biceps injury in the Titans’ final preseason trial against the Dolphins, which he is expected to return from in May, Foran declared he still had “plenty left in the tank”.
“The high-performance side of things is forever evolving, but … it comes back to putting in the hard work and making sure you’re doing everything you can to keep up with this current crop of players,” he said.
“I’m still loving it as much now as I was 16 years ago, so it’s great to still be pushing myself and being involved in this game.”
According to sports science expert Dr Jonathon Weakley, the ability to prolong careers goes back to the strides taken in strength and conditioning practices during an athlete’s formative years.
Weakley, who alongside other professionals at Leeds Beckett University were instrumental in transforming the England Rugby Union’s athlete pathways, told this masthead the growth of sports science could be best illustrate by the change of props in the 15-man code.
Where players in those positions two decades ago would weigh about “111 to 114 kilograms”, they now push 130 kilograms, enhancing their capacity to withstand contact and handle injuries.
“They’re the same stature, but they’ve essentially put on 15 kilograms, and that’s because they’ve had more time to accumulate that mass and accumulate strength,” Weakley said.
“Not many would have been able to squat 200 kilograms at the turn of the century. Now we’ve got players like Fletcher Newell – who’s in the squad of the All Blacks – and they’re squatting close to 300 kilograms in their teenage years.
“After a while, it’s not freakish, it just becomes the norm. Strength fundamentally mitigates injury, it enhances recovery, and it improves performance on the field – they are undeniable facts.
“If we implement good, proper strength and conditioning from a young age, we have a greater opportunity to enhance things like strength and power.”
While the Australian Catholic University associate professor believes the extension of careers will be in small increments, the lengthening of a player’s peak period will grow as a result of their improved conditioning.
“What we have seen is players being able to play for longer because they had a greater training base, we’re more aware of injuries and how to treat them, the nutritional considerations around recovery, and things like sleep,” Weakley said.
“It might be one to three years, but that lengthening of that window of peak performance might be why we’re feeling like players’ careers are lengthening.
“I fundamentally don’t believe we will see a later peak, as such, because underpinning physical performance and athletic performance is physiology.
“I still believe we will have young players coming through who are peaking between the ages of 24 and 26. However, the window of optimal performance I think is extended through sport science.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
