It seems, at this stage, like Zak Butters is going to move on from Port Adelaide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a huge story that could reshape the complexion of the AFL, not least because of the money he\u2019ll demand to cover all of his fines.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conservatively, Butters is like a top-5 or 6 midfielder in footy who plays every minute like someone stole his lunch. He\u2019s mean and he\u2019s tough on the inside, but he\u2019s also silky and explosive on the outside and is basically the sole reason Port Adelaide is currently a functioning footy club.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n He reminds me of Trent Cotchin if Cotchin had a jetpack that made him run faster with the way that he can blend his willingness to careen into someone like he\u2019s a middle linebacker with outside run and good skills.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n While he\u2019s not a perfect player \u2013 he\u2019s never kicked more than 13 goals in a season for instance \u2013 he\u2019s the kind of player that could change the complexion of footy over the next 4-5 years if he changes clubs. It\u2019s got Kevin Durant to the Warriors or Patty Dangerfield to the Cats potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of who is in the hunt, Cal Twomey had a piece last week which said that Richmond has entered the race and named a number of other clubs who were already in the Butters Sweepstakes.<\/a> Those clubs are basically all of the big Victorian clubs bar Essendon, so it\u2019s Richmond, Hawthorn, Collingwood, Geelong, and the Dogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019re the clubs I\u2019ll rank, as well as one more that should inject themselves into the race. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m going to rank them on the basis of three big questions, each out of 10: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I cannot fathom why Richmond would do this. What on earth tells anyone at that club that they\u2019re a Zak Butters away?<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Butters changing clubs could genuinely change the AFL on its axis. If he goes to the Tigers, in their current state with their current coach and system, he\u2019s just playing for Port Adelaide again except with less attacking intent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And Richmond trying to build their club on the back of midfielders when Jonty Faull can barely hit his foot when attempting to kick would be insane, especially after the mistakes of making two midfielders two of the most expensive players at the club when you\u2019re trying to reboot a dynasty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019ve started with the kids, get them building a foundation, find some cheap adults to replace the ones that will retire soon, and in a few years go game fishing.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s too early in the Richmond lifecycle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Total: 6\/30<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n If it\u2019s too early in the Richmond life cycle, it\u2019s too late in the Pies one. Adding Zak Butters now would be like Rupert Murdoch marrying Alix Earle to spend the second half of his life with her.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s like brother we all get why you\u2019d do it, but let\u2019s be realistic about where you are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a Pies team that is comprised entirely of Nick and Josh Daicos doing things.<\/a> Adding Zak Butters and the likely pick and cap impact of that decision wouldn\u2019t make it easier for the Pies to add more depth to the list, though I concede it might help Nick Daicos to stay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even with him, the Pies couldn\u2019t win it all next year and would need to turn the list over wholesale over the next four which would probably be the end of Butters\u2019 prime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Plus, it\u2019s Collingwood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Total: 7\/30<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Clearly, Geelong won\u2019t have to pay Butters as much as other clubs might because on top of his wage, he\u2019ll get a consultancy gig at Morris Finance, a farm, a nice beach front house at Moggs Creek, and a Ford Raptor, so the money is less important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Butters would also join the next generation of Geelong stars taking Geelong to the next dynasty alongside Bailey Smith, Max Holmes, Ollie Dempsey and even the emerging Shannon Neale.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n That would alter the complexion of next year, and clearly the complexion of the competition over the next four especially if Chris Scott sticks around. It\u2019s just that I have to ask: do we really want this? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris Scott has never won fewer than 10 games as a head coach, has won two premierships, and has the Cats in finals every year. They\u2019ve also consistently added stars and topped up just when it feels like their run is ending. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Should they really get another superstar? <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the socialist AFL, wouldn\u2019t it be like Elon getting another billion or two for nothing? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Total: 15\/30<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n On field, the Hawks adding Butters would have a gigantic impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They are the best coached team in footy, with a parade of B+ players and a lack of genuine superstars other than the emergent Nick Watson.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Jai Newcombe campaign from last year was one of the great \u201cstop trying to make fetch happen\u201d campaigns in living memory. He\u2019s a good, tough player. He\u2019s not a superstar.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Butters would give them a genuine midfield superstar with some serious explosiveness, which they desperately need, and you just know that Sam Mitchell would use him perfectly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s just that Hawthorn wasn\u2019t bad enough for long enough for me to want him to go there. I\u2019m also not sure I can handle another three-peat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Total: 23\/30<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The on-field impact for the Dogs would be big, but not as big as for Hawthorn. Where the Hawks are crying out for star mids, adding Butters to Bont, Richards, Sanders, Liberatore, and Freijah would be like Danny Ocean and Rusty having the \u201cdo you think we need one more\u201d conversation.<\/em><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, while adding to a strength is big, making a relative weakness into a strength is bigger. Therefore, Hawthorn is higher on the on-field questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But everyone likes the Bulldogs. Everyone likes the way they play. They haven\u2019t really been a destination for big ticket acquisitions since someone like Adam Treloar. Instead, they\u2019ve developed their own stars from Bontempelli, to Richards, to Freijah.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n They deserve a top-up piece. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Total: 25\/30<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Butters wants to go back to Melbourne. He\u2019s from there. I have not seen a single report linking Butters to Adelaide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But Zak Butters should go to Adelaide. He could become the Luis Figo of The Showdown.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n More than that, he could become the Luis Figo or Benedict Arnold of the AFL: a figure synonymous with a cinematic level of betrayal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On a footy level, Adelaide\u2019s biggest problem is a lack of depth and explosiveness out of midfield other than Rankine and Rachele, who are rotating part timers. Butters instantly becomes Adelaide\u2019s number one mid and gives them an extra element of juice to complement either Rankine or Rachele depending on the rotation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With that group kicking to Thilthorpe and Fogarty, with the returning Mark Keane and Josh Worrell behind the ball, for next year and beyond that team is a threat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Karmically, though, I wrestled with this. It\u2019s bad karma for Butters personally to betray his club for their biggest rival, good karma for Adelaide because they will have ratfucked their biggest rival like they\u2019re Jimmy McGill running the Coushatta scam<\/a>, and both good and bad karma for the wider league. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Good because they get the drama of this kind of hitman style ruthless professionalism but bad because if this happens, then rivalries would truly only matter to the fans and the players are officially mercenaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Richmond<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Collingwood<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Geelong<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Hawthorn<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Bulldogs<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Adelaide<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n