Ken Hinkley unsure if Zak Butters will stay at Port Adelaide, backs star to win 2026 Brownlow Medal
Fresh from leaving the Power just over three months ago, Ken Hinkley gives his assessment on the Zak Butters state of play, change at Port Adelaide and where the crosstown rivals stand.
Former Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has tipped Zak Butters to shrug off intense scrutiny about his future next season, saying “I’d be backing him” to win the Brownlow Medal.
Butters is out of contract at the end of 2026 and clubs in his home state of Victoria are circling the 25-year-old as he delays a decision on his plans.
Hinkley, who handed the senior coaching reins to Josh Carr in August, was unsure if Butters would re-sign or leave the club.
But Port Adelaide’s longest-serving AFL mentor believed the two-time All-Australian would handle the constant speculation well and “compete like a ferocious little prick” because his love of the club and his teammates was pure.
“I’d be backing him to win the Brownlow today because I can bet now, I think,” Hinkley said, laughing.
“The scrutiny won’t worry him.
“He’s the sort of person who’ll commit everything to the program that he’s with.
“He’s on record saying he won’t make any decisions about what his future looks like until near the end of next season and I think that’s real.
“Everyone will make all the suggestions around what he will and won’t do, all I’ll say is let him make his mind up when the time is right.
“Whatever it’ll be, it’ll be the right decision for Zak.”
New Fox Footy expert Hinkley described Butters as the toughest player pound for pound in the AFL.
“And mentally tough, not just physically tough,” he said.
Hinkley has a close relationship with Butters and plenty of his other former charges but has stayed away from Alberton – and not contacted Carr – since their handover to ensure clear air.
Carr taking over prompted a raft of other football department changes during the Power’s off-season, including the departure of long-time assistant Chad Cornes, arrival of Andy Collins as coaching director and Stuart Dew (midfield) and Darren Reeves (forwards) as line coaches, along with the promotion of Tim Parham as high-performance boss.
Hinkley did not want to talk about the succession plan, reiterating only that it was far too early to judge.
He was also reluctant to predict whether his former side would return to the finals in Carr’s first season after the club’s 13th-placed finish during an injury-hit 2025.
“The draw that Port has got early this year provides an opportunity to create and gain some confidence,” he said.
“I expect Port to do what they do every year – compete really hard and give themselves a great chance.
“I’ll be interested to see what it looks like when they start playing.
“I’m sure there’ll be some changes.”
Asked about the mooted move of one of his favourites, Todd Marshall, from attack to defence, Hinkley said: “He’s such a good ball user and can read the game incredibly well. He’s a really intelligent footballer. I think he’s a forward-half player but I look forward to seeing what he does if he does start down back.”
Marshall going to defence would be the latest tweak to an attack that had lost matchwinning goalsneak Willie Rioli to a surprise retirement.
“The game and pressure of football has been a little unfair on Willie at times, and I’m just really glad that he’s happy,” Hinkley said.
Hinkley was not concerned about the Power’s small forward stocks.
“I love little Tommy Cochrane, Joey Richards was good last season and Pepp’s still there but not going to be there at the start I assume (due to a knee injury),” he said.
“(Christian) Moraes is a really good player, (Joe) Berry will explode in 2026, so there’s plenty of options down that end that can become very good players.”
As for long-time rivals the Crows, Hinkley said it was hard to see them not improving.
He believed Adelaide should not be harshly judged for going 0-2 in the major round this year, in its first September appearances since 2017, because “finals are 50-50 games at best”.
“People should stop talking about straight sets and let them play footy,” he said.
“You can just get beaten in finals by a little bit.
“For us at Port Adelaide, we get beaten by less than a kick in two prelim finals (in 2014 and 2020) – that’s how close you can get and still feel like you’ve failed, but that’s not the case.
“When you haven’t been through finals and the pressure of finals is too much, it takes a bit to learn and understand.
“The Crows will be better for that.”
Hinkley said Adelaide’s biggest challenge after a minor premiership-winning campaign was making sure it returned to the finals.
“You need to go back to ground zero … and I think Nicksy (Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks) will be very, very good at that, he’ll take them back to work,” he said.
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Originally published as Ken Hinkley unsure if Zak Butters will stay at Port Adelaide, backs star to win 2026 Brownlow Medal
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