Zak Butters Remains Focused on the Season
Zak Butters, known for his highly sought-after signature in the Australian Football League (AFL), has remained firm in his decision to wait until the end of the season before making any future plans. Despite the mounting interest from clubs across Victoria, the Port Adelaide player has not wavered in his stance.
“I feel like the end of the season will probably be when I make my decision,” Butters said during a recent media session. “And I think I’ll be sticking to that all year.”
He expressed his current satisfaction with the game and the development of young players within the team. “I’m really enjoying my footy right now, seeing these young kids come through. And I feel like we’ve got a few boys still to come back in with Connor (Rozee) and a few boys still missing, so I think the future is pretty bright.”
Butters has been attracting attention from several AFL clubs, including the Western Bulldogs, Hawthorn, Collingwood, Geelong, Essendon, and Richmond. As a triple club champion, he will become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, with Port Adelaide committed to matching any offer.
However, the player has faced some challenges recently, including a controversial tribunal case where he was accused of abusing an umpire. The situation led to a period of unwanted attention, but Butters was eventually cleared after the appeals board ruled that he was denied natural justice due to the involvement of tribunal member Jason Johnson during parts of the hearing.
“I keep it pretty clear to myself … keep the off-field stuff to the off-field and worry about my performance foremost and how I control that,” Butters explained. “That’s what I’m paid to do.”
He emphasized the importance of focusing on training, improving as a player, and supporting his teammates. “A lot of my time and energy goes into training, getting better as a player, making my teammates better, and being a good leader as well so I’d like to say I fill my cup up with most of that stuff.”
When asked about the difficulty of the case, Butters responded: “I wouldn’t say it was ideal. But difficult or not, I feel like there’s quite a lot of worse things going on in the world. Obviously, you’d rather these things not happen, and the club has been super in their support and all the people around the place, I couldn’t be more grateful for that.”
Butters has been acting captain since Connor Rozee suffered a serious hamstring injury in round three, which has kept him out of action for approximately three months. Despite this, he has taken on the role with confidence, averaging a career-high 31 disposals per game.
“When I took it over, and (coach) Josh (Carr) gave me the responsibility, he just challenged me to use it and try to get better as well and not shy away from things,” Butters said. “I’ve been lucky enough to have some really good leaders over my time at the club in Tom Jonas and Travis Boak. Even in the team now, Ollie Wines and Darcy Byrne-Jones have been here since I started my footy and they’re still helping me now.”
He acknowledged the support he has received from both past and present teammates. “I’ve been pretty lucky to have some really good support.”
