MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 24: David Swallow of the Suns looks dejected after a loss during the 2019 AFL round 01 match between the St Kilda Saints and the Gold Coast Suns at Marvel Stadium on March 24, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos)

The Gold Coast Suns have had their fair share of trials in their near-decade long existence in the AFL.

And they could have made life a lot easier for themselves if they'd called back Gold Coast native Dayne Zorko after he trained with the club in the lead-up to their inaugural season.

Troubles with drafting and retaining players have long haunted the Suns. Of their first draft haul in 2010, only David Swallow remains at the club.

But they did invite to train with them a future club captain and Queensland native - Dayne Zorko - only to decide to pass on him on that occasion.

“One day my new manager Peter Blucher told me that there was a Gold Coast AFL team coming in,” Zorko wrote in the Herald Sun.

“He said there would be a lot of young talent at the club and if I didn’t want to move away this was my best chance to get on an AFL list.

“From there I got asked to train with the Suns along with Ryan Holman for about a week or two.

“They needed some older bodies because they had all these 18-year-olds, so I went and trained with them and never got a phone call back.

“That was disappointing, but little did I know my dream was about to materialise.”

As luck would have it, Gold Coast would get a second chance at Zorko, actually signing him the following year, only to immediately send him to Brisbane as one component of a three-way trade involving the Demons as well.

The Suns snagged pick 34 and Demons defender Matthew Warnock, while the Lions picked up Zorko, a future four-time best and fairest winner, along with pick 47.

“In 2011, I went to Western Australia and played well in a state game for Queensland,” Zorko wrote.

“Luckily, a Lions recruiter was there to watch someone else, but after that I got a phone call.

“I was living in Gold Coast’s draft zone, so Brisbane asked the Suns to put me on their list so I could be on-traded to them.

“It was a few years later than I had hoped, but I was finally on an AFL list.”

Zorko has gone on to amass 168 games with the Lions, averaging better than a goal a game.