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Jaiden Sciberras • May 3rd, 2025 11:02 am
Zak Butters has transformed Port Adelaide’s season since his return from injury.
After the side’s 91-point loss to Collingwood in Round 1, the club commenced 2025 with just one win from their first three outings without the 24-year-old.
Upon return from his knee arthroscopy, the Power have won three games from their last four, with their superstar All-Australian midfielder named best on ground in each of their three wins.
Nine coaches votes in their win over the Hawks, followed by a perfect 10 against the Swans and another perfect 10 against the Kangaroos, Butters has accumulated 29 coaches votes within just three weeks, leaving the midfielder with the sixth most votes in the AFL.
Through his four games thus far, Butters has averaged 29 disposals, seven tackles and seven clearances, with his 15 contested possessions per game ranking second in the competition.
Following his 27-disposal, 13-tackle takeover against North Melbourne in Round 7, SEN’s David King has stressed the importance of the Power holding onto the superstar, whose contract with the club is set to expire at the end of the 2026 season.
“I just marvel at the little man Zak Butters,” King told SEN’s Fireball.
“They would be dry scones without Butters. I’m worried that if he leaves, they’ll become very same-same with the rest of the competition.
“The more I’ve seen, the more I feel like this would be like Chris Judd when he left the West Coast Eagles back in 2007, when they had a 15-win year and the next year the had a four-win year such was the hole and the vacuum that he left behind.
“I know we talk about the signings and the end of season really early.
“I know he is not out of contract until the end of next year, but the heat comes with the pre agents rather than when they are actually a free agent.
“This signature is the most important thing at Port Adelaide right now.”
Butters is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of next season, with a number of Victorian sides holding rumoured interest in bringing the star home.
