Western Bulldogs lead pack of clubs hunting Zak Butters

There’s a whole host of clubs fighting for the right to land Port superstar Zak Butters, but one Victorian club can call themselves the clear frontrunner, even if it requires a “head-turning” offer.

Western Bulldogs lead a pack of Victorian clubs fighting hard to bring superstar Port Adelaide on-baller Zak Butters back home to be closer to family.

The Dogs are the frontrunners to land the Darley product who will face-off against Luke Beveridge’s men in Ballarat on Saturday.

But Geelong also has strong interest in Butters and will zero in on the 24-year-old if they miss out on Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell, who is leaning toward staying at the Suns, and Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver.

St Kilda is chasing a powerful A-Grade midfielder and could be prepared to offer the hard nut upwards of $1.5 million a season to bring him to south-east Melbourne.

Zak Butters is a wanted man. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

The Saints are also chasing Port line breaker Miles Bergman, as well as Carlton’s Tom De Koning and GWS Giants’ key backman Leek Aleer this year.

But the Dogs have long targeted Butters for his class and ties to the western region and last month poached new player acquisition manager, Michael Regan, after a long stint at Port Adelaide as list analytics manager.

The Power are digging in on the future of Butters amid the league-wide interest and are adamant they will not trade him this year unless there was a mega offer the club couldn’t refuse.

He is contracted until the end of 2026.

Industry sources said on Tuesday only a head-turning offer of three first-round draft picks, or a player such as St Kilda superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, would force Port to even consider a trade this year.

Port Adelaide currently does not hold a pick in the first-round of this year’s draft after moving it on as part of the Jack Lukosius and Joe Richards deals last year.

But the Power still want to desperately keep Butters, a man the club believes is one of the top few players in the league for his blistering speed, power and toughness in the clearances.

Could both these men leave the Power in 2025? Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

He is sixth in the AFL Coaches’ Association player of the year award (five behind Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos) after he was best-on-ground with 27 possessions and 13 tackles in the win over North Melbourne on Saturday night.

Butters could be the best player traded since GWS Giants secured picks 13, 15 and 20 for Jeremy Cameron from the Cats in 2020.

But Port’s stance means Butters’ future could be decided next year when he qualifies for restricted free agency.

But even then Port would be prepared to match a free agency bid, and force a trade at the end of 2026 involving multiple early picks.

To match a bid and force a better return than a single compensation pick, Port would have to have significant salary cap space.

Butters has strong relationships at Port Adelaide, including coach Ken Hinkley and coach-in-waiting Josh Carr, and was lauded for his leadership with an angry Jason Horne-Francis on Saturday night.

But the gun midfielder will weigh up a move to Victoria with his manager, Peter Lenton, for family reasons.

Butters has recently changed managers from Max Kleiman to Lenton within Kapital Sports.

Port landed Horne-Francis from North Melbourne two years ago because the number one pick wanted to be closer to his Adelaide-based family.

But the Butters scenario could see the reverse situation play out.

Captain Connor Rozee told the Herald Sun on AFL captain’s day he thought Butters would re-sign because of the club’s culture.

“He’s got some great relationships here. I am best mates with him and I am sure they’ll get something done but it is still a little while away,” Rozee said.

“I think a lot of (homesickness) is to do with where you get drafted and what the club does to help you.

“Our club has done a really good job at retaining players, we haven’t had many clubs leave us, there’s been the odd one here or there but our culture is good enough we retain players even if they’re from Victoria.

“Look at ‘Boaky’ (Travis Boak), he had the chance to go home, Ollie Wines too, they all chose to stay because of our culture and how close our team is.”