Port Adelaide star Zak Butters has been told to keep his nose clean after being charged for striking twice

On the eve of the finals players should be avoiding match review panel scrutiny, which one Port star will be reminded of this week.

Zak Butters needs to keep his nose clean. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Two strikes was two too many for Port Adelaide playmaker Zak Butters, who should expect to be called into coach Ken Hinkley’s office for a “quiet word” this week.

With just one round left before the finals begin, Butters was charged with two separate incidents in last week’s thrashing of Carlton that locked in a top-four sport for Port.

The 20-year-old was fined $4000 comprised of two $2000 fines for striking Carlton backman Nic Newman in the opening quarter and Adam Saad in the last quarter.

Both were deemed as low impact, helping Butters avoid suspension.

Port assistant coach Jarrad Schofield said they “loved” Butters aggression but he couldn’t afford to put himself in positions that could be closely scrutinised with so much at stake.

“You don’t want to take away from being aggressive for the ball and to the man,” Schofield said.

“It’s probably just more about his method and making sure that he’s not careless in any of his actions.

“I am sure Ken might have a quiet word to him.

“But you can’t hold Zak back. He is a guy that attacks the ball, a fair player, and obviously attacks the body hard, and we love that about him.”

Scott Lycett was subbed out of the game last week with a sore knee. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Port has a final before the finals this weekend, taking on the Western Bulldogs. Victory would secure a top-two spot.

But from 16 wins in 2021, including the past five in a row, Port has not claimed a top-four scalp.

Schofield dismissed that as an issue, however, nor the “noise” it could create about their true premiership credentials if they couldn’t get over the Bulldogs.

“That’s for people to have the question marks,” he said.

“External noise won’t distract us from what we are about internally.”

News of the pre-finals bye being scrapped had “pros and cons” according to Schofield, who said the momentum Port was building could be an advantage for them hitting the finals straight away.

“Momentum is good for us at the moment,” he said.

“We’ve had players come back from some time out. If that’s what it is, we’ll just go with it.”

Fixing their tardy starts, having fallen behind to Carlton last week before powering home to an emphatic 95-point win, is less of a concern.

“It’s how we finish games, and we’ve been finishing games with wins,” Schofield said.

“We acknowledge we haven’t started how we would like, but we are super impressed with how we have finished them.”

Schofield said the Port medical staff were yet to fully assess ruckman Scott Lycett, who was substituted out of Saturday night‘s win at three-quarter time because of a left knee injury.

“He pulled up sore with a knee knock. He’ll be assessed throughout the week,” he said.

Port could equal last year’s record of 17 wins, albeit from 22 rather than the 20 home-and-away games last year.

But Schofield was adamant the 2021 version of Port Adelaide was better than last year‘s version that won the minor premiership but lost a preliminary final to premiers Richmond.

“We have got more games into players ... so our depth in our squad is greater,” Schofield said.

“And we have to work hard to get to where we are now.

“We get a great opportunity to round out our home-and-away season against the Bulldogs.

“I think we are in a far better place than where we were this time last year.”

Originally published as Port Adelaide star Zak Butters has been told to keep his nose clean after being charged for striking twice