Victorian club leading race to poach Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters with $1.5m deal

A Victorian AFL club is one of several clubs racing to poach a superstar player on an eye-watering deal worth $1.5 million a season.

The Western Bulldogs are the frontrunners in the race to sign Port Adelaide star Zak Butters as Victorian clubs attempt to lure the gun midfielder back home.

According to Code Sports, the Bulldogs are leading the race to land Butters, who will take on the Bulldogs when Port play the Dogs in Ballarat on Saturday.

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The report also names Geelong as a potential suitor for Butters, with the Cats having strong interest in the 24-year-old — if they aren’t able to recruit Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell or Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver.

St Kilda is also after a gun midfielder and could be prepared to offer Butters a deal worth more than $1.5 million per season, which would make him one of the highest paid players in the AFL.

The Saints have a war chest to spend this off-season and are targeting Carlton ruckman Tom De Koning, Port Adelaide halfback Miles Bergman and out of favour Giants defender Leek Aleer.

Butters is contracted with Port Adelaide until the end of 2026 and it’s expected the Power won’t entertain trading him unless a monster trade package is tabled.

Victorian clubs are chasing Port Adelaide star Zak Butters. (Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The Herald Sun reports only a mammoth offer of three first round picks or a player like St Kilda star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera would make Port even consider trading Butters this year.

Port Adelaide doesn’t hold its first round pick for this year’s draft after using it to recruit Jack Lukosius and Joe Richards last year.

Butters would be a handy addition to the Bulldogs midfield after Bailey Smith, Jack Macrae and Caleb Daniel departed the Dogs last off-season.

Butters has been in blistering form since returning from knee surgery, helping Ken Hinkley’s Port Adelaide win three games in a row to be just outside the top eight.

He has polled 29 out of a possible 30 votes in the AFL Coaches’ Association player of the year from those three games.

“I think he changes a make-up of a side more than any other player in the competition,” Demons great Garry Lyon said on AFL 360 on Monday.

“He turns this team into a team full of swagger with a little dose of nasty and then there’s some brilliance thrown it. That’s how good this bloke his.

“I rate him at the very, very top. In terms of his capacity to come back into this side and just change it. He’s doing for Ken (Hinkley) what (injured Swans star) Errol Gulden can’t do for Dean Cox.

“If you wanted to write the biggest cheque … his relationship with Ken is over at the end of the year, they’ve got a great tight relationship.

Butters has been in sensational form since returning from injury. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

“I know he’s got a year to go on the contract. He’s the one I’m going to, he’s the one that can change a team. He changes his own team. He comes back and they look completely different. He’s the one for me, Zak Butters.”

Butters was praised for his leadership when he and captain Connor Rozee helped calm a hot headed Jason Horne-Francis down during the win over North Melbourne on the weekend.

If he is traded, Butters would arguably be the most talented player dealt since Geelong gave GWS three first-round picks for Jeremy Cameron in 2020.

It’s likely Butters’ future will be decided next year when he qualifies for restricted free agency.

Originally published as Victorian club leading race to poach Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters with $1.5m deal