Could Zak Butters become the first player to win the Brownlow Medal and switch clubs straight afterwards?
Amid the headlines and drama surrounding last month’s AFL tribunal case involving referee Nick Foot, Zak Butters insisted his primary focus remains on the field.
“I keep that pretty open to myself… I keep the off-field stuff off the field and most importantly I worry about my performance and how I control it,” Butters said.
“I get paid to do that. 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 glass with a lot of that.”
This season the cup is full to the brim; so much so that Butters could become the first person to win a Brownlow medal and then immediately join another club.
But as AFL historian Swamp points out, there is a historical quirk to this statistic. One of the club’s first stars, Hawthorn’s Col Austen, won the league’s top prize in 1949, then promptly left for Richmond following a leadership dispute at the club. The difference was that Austen didn’t know he was a Brownlow medalist when he changed clubs. He was initially overlooked for the award, the VFL’s top prize, when countdown went to South Melbourne’s Ron Clegg, but from 1989 he was retrospectively recognized as joint winner.
Nearing the halfway point of this season, Butters – a restricted free agent who is considering offers to move to Victoria – is fourth among punters betting on this year’s grand prize, behind Marcus Bontempelli, Nick Daicos and Bailey Smith, alongside Christian Petracca. After the ninth round he, Bontempelli and Daicos were joint leaders of the AFL Coaches Association champion player award with 50 votes.
The star midfielder was at his best again in a losing cause against the Western Bulldogs on Friday night, making 30 disposals, five clearances and 529 metres. He has career-high averages in disposals (30.6), uncontested possessions (18.3) and over-50s (5.8).
He has made 30 or more disposals in each of the last eight matches, the longest active streak, the 15th longest run of all time and the longest ever run streak by a Port Adelaide player.
It’s little surprise that he’s on the verge of signing what’s shaping up to be one of the richest deals in league history, potentially worth more than $16 million over eight years, according to league sources who asked to remain anonymous.
There is significant interest from the Western Bulldogs, Geelong, Hawthorn, Essendon and Richmond, but Melbourne coach Steven King raised eyebrows on SEN on Monday when he said Butters may have made his decision last year.
“I’m not quite sure,” King said when asked where he stood on Melbourne’s Butters race.
“We’re like any club that would love him, but from what you’ve heard it’s about a couple and we may not be part of that discussion. We’re definitely working behind the scenes to make sure he knows we’re an option.”
“But that was probably played out a year or so ago.”
Power said that they would meet any offer from the rival club.
“Nothing has changed my mind really. I feel like it’ll probably be the end of the season when I make my decision. And I think I’ll stick with it all year,” reigning club champion and three-time John Cahill medalist Butters said last month.
While Butters is a Brownlow Medal enthusiast, his history as one of the most fined players ever – including the MRO assessing him for his strike against the Western Bulldogs’ Joel Freijah at the weekend but deciding not to sanction – means disappointment could still set in.
There have been players who left a year after receiving the Brownlow Medal; these include Footscray’s Brad Hardie (1985 winner; went to Brisbane after the ’86 season) and Geelong youngster Gary Ablett (2009 winner; went to the Gold Coast after the 2010 season). Hardie has only been at the Dogs for two years and 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) among others.
But a move by Butters if he takes “Charlie” home and returns to Victoria could signal how times continue to change in the AFL world.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
Jon Pierik is a sports reporter for The Age. He covers the AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect with: X or email.
