Amid the headlines and drama that enveloped his AFL tribunal case involving umpire Nick Foot last month, Zak Butters insisted his primary focus remained on field.
“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 said.
“That’s what I’m paid to do. 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.”
That cup is full to the brim this season, to the point Butters could become the first man to be crowned the Brownlow medallist, then immediately join another club.
However, as AFL historian Swamp points out, there is an historic quirk to that stat. Hawthorn’s Col Austen – one of the club’s first stars – won the league’s top award in 1949, then promptly left for Richmond after a club leadership dispute. The difference is that Austen did not know he was a Brownlow medallist at the time he changed clubs. He was initially overlooked for what was then the VFL’s top award on a countback to South Melbourne’s Ron Clegg, but was acknowledged retrospectively from 1989 onwards as a joint winner.
Approaching the mid-point of this season, Butters – a restricted free agent weighing up offers to move home to Victoria – is equal fourth alongside Christian Petracca with bookies in betting for this year’s top honour, behind only Marcus Bontempelli, Nick Daicos and Bailey Smith. After round nine, he, Bontempelli and Daicos are joint leaders of the AFL Coaches Association champion player award, all on 50 votes.
The star midfielder was again at his best in a losing cause against the Western Bulldogs on Friday night, when he had 30 disposals, five clearances and 529 metres gained. He is averaging career highs in disposals (30.6), uncontested possessions (18.3) and inside 50s (5.8).
He has had 30 or more disposals in each of past eight games, the longest active streak, the 15th longest of all time, and the longest ever run by a Port Adelaide player.
Little wonder then that he is on the verge of signing what shapes as one of the richest deals in league history, potentially exceeding $16 million over eight years, according to league sources wishing to remain anonymous.
The Western Bulldogs, Geelong, Hawthorn, Essendon and Richmond all have strong interest, although Melbourne coach Steven King raised eyebrows on Monday when he suggested on SEN that Butters may have made his decision last year.
“Not really sure,” King replied when asked where Melbourne stands in the race for Butters.
“We’d be like every club that’d love him, but from what you hear, I think it’s down to a couple, and we might not be part of that discussion. We’re certainly doing work behind the scenes to let him know that we’re an option.
“But that’s probably been played out for a year or so in advance already.”
The Power have said they will match any offer from a rival club.
“Nothing has really changed my mind. I feel like the end of season will probably be when I make my decision. And I think I’ll be sticking to that all year,” Butters, the reigning club champion and a three-time John Cahill medallist, said last month.
While Butters is a Brownlow Medal fancy, his history as one of the most fined players ever – including the fact the MRO considered but decided not to sanction him for his bump on the Western Bullldogs’ Joel Freijah at the weekend – means there could yet be disappointment looming.
There have been players who have left a year after claiming the Brownlow Medal, including Footscray’s Brad Hardie (1985 winner; left for Brisbane after the ’86 season) and Geelong’s Gary Ablett junior (2009 winner; left for Gold Coast after the 2010 season). Hardie was only at the Dogs for two years, so is also among a rare number of players to win a Brownlow in their first year at a club. Brian Wilson (Melbourne in 1982), Greg Williams (Sydney in 1986) and Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong in 2016) are among the others.
But a Butters move, should he take home “Charlie” and head back to Victoria, could signal how times continue to change in the AFL world.
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