Zak Butters Biography

Connor Rozee signs a massive eight-year contract with Port Adelaide and is named captain of the club for 2024, with Zak Butters serving as vice-captain.

"To wear the number one guernsey is something I'm incredibly proud of and I won't take for granted. I feel I'm ready to lead our group moving forward," Rozee said.

Zak Butters wins the John Cahill Medal as Port Adelaide’s best and fairest player for 2023.

Butters averaged 27 disposals and kicked 13 goals during a season in which he became one of the competition's elite midfielders, earning his first All-Australian blazer and winning the AFL Coaches' Association Champion Player of the Year award.

Zak Butters wins the 2023 AFL Coaches' Association Champion Player of the Year award.

"I believe that being voted by the coaches as the League's Champion Player is one of the highest honours a player can receive, and I could not be prouder that Zak has been recognised with this award," Power coach Ken Hinkley said of Butters' achievement.

Zak Butters is expected to spend about a month on the sidelines after scans confirmed he had sprained the medial ligament in his right knee in the Power's 31-point loss to Melbourne.

The exciting forward landed awkwardly when marking the ball in the third quarter and was subbed out of the game in what was his first game back in more than three months after left knee and ankle setbacks.

Zak Butters undergoes surgery on his left knee to release pressure on a nerve injury sustained in Port Adelaide's round four win over Richmond.

Zak Butters is having a big impact in just his second AFL season.

When Butters kicks into Port's forward 50, the Power retain the ball 69 percent of the time and take a mark inside 50 39 percent of the time. Overall, the Power retain the ball from 88 percent of his disposals.

"It's a strength of his. His vision, his awareness of what's happening around him, he knows where he's going normally before he's got it," Power forwards assistant coach Nathan Bassett said.

"We are trying to keep the balance between his creativity and what he sees, and the percentage play. We don't want to curb his creativity.

"He's got as good a creativity as there is in the AFL, so sometimes it's stretching that while understanding that every now and again we're going to get a mistake that looks maybe not quite so good but the pay-off is there'll be a lot more good ones for it."

After an impressive debut season, Zak Butters says he is working on improving his running capacity to take the next step in 2020.

"I've worked really hard on my running in the off-season. It's pretty important in the high half-forward role, you've got to get up and back," Butters said.

"I felt last year I was able to get up quite easily, but then getting back was sometimes a hassle.

"I worked on my running and covered the ground with more confidence and now I've got the ability to get it done."

Draftees Connor Rozee, Xavier Duursma and Zak Butters have all re-committed to the Power, signing two-year contract extensions to remain at the club until the end of 2022.

Zak Butters makes his AFL debut for Port Adelaide at the MCG with 13 disposals (7 kicks and 6 handballs), 2 marks, 3 tackles and 2 goals in a 26-point win over Melbourne.

Robbie Gray says a season-ending knee injury 2012 sparked his interest in spotting talent and claims credit for the Power's recruiting of Zak Butters who will make his AFL debut this week.

Butters caught Gray's eye last year with his performances for the Western Jets in the TAC Cup and for Vic Metro at the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.

"I was a Zak Butters fan … he's got some tricks," Gray said.

"I've done a little bit of work with (Port's national recruiting manager) Geoff Parker and those boys and watched a little bit of vision in the lead-up to the draft because it's a bit of an interest and maybe something I'll look into after footy.

"He (Butters) is a great kid, really humble as well, so I'm really happy for him."

Port Adelaide select Zak Butters with pick No.12 in the 2018 National Draft.

“Zak injured his shoulder midway through the season but we are confident he will bounce back strongly from that and add some real pace and class to our list,” Port Adelaide recruiting manager Geoff Parker said.

“He’s tough but also a very smart player and makes good decisions going inside the forward 50.”

First-round draft prospect Zak Butters started his crucial draft season knowing a decent chunk of it would be spent recovering from shoulder surgery.

"At first, you're pretty disappointed and shattered, knowing you're probably going to play half a season in probably the biggest year of your life," Butters said.

"But in the end, after I got past that disappointment, I just looked to make the most out of what I could get out of it and put some strong performances on the board early."