Ken Hinkley expects Port Adelaide star Zak Butters to feature in round 1 despite ankle injury scare

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has given Power fans reason for optimism after star midfielder Zak Butters sent a scare through the club when he suffered an ankle injury against Fremantle.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 01: Zak Butters of the Power keeps the ball in play before hurting his ankle during the 2024 AFL Community Series match between Port Adelaide Power and Fremantle Dockers at Alberton Oval on March 01, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says he would be “very surprised” if star midfielder Zak Butters misses round 1 with a rolled ankle suffered in the Power’s convincing pre-season win over Fremantle.

Butters went down with an ankle sprain in the early stages of the Power’s 39-point win over the Dockers on Friday night.

The Power ruled Butters out of the rest of the game as what was described as a precautionary measure.

Hinkley said he was confident he would have his star for the Power’s season opener against West Coast in two weeks.

Zak Butters leaves the ground after hurting his ankle. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

“No I don’t think so (that Butters could be in doubt), he rolled his ankle. It was as simple as that,” Hinkley said.

“We have about a week to get him over the incident and a week to get him right for round 1.

“It was a collective decision, the medical team, Zak, myself just to discuss and let’s be fair dinkum here we don’t need to make his ankle any more swollen than it was and if he went back out there that is what happened.

“It is a simple rolled ankle and I would be very surprised if he is not available for round 1.”

Butters drives the Power forward. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

Jackson Mead has enjoyed a stellar pre-season. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

With Butters only playing eight minutes, father-son Jackson Mead’s impressive pre-season continued.

The son of three-time SANFL premiership player Darren, Mead has played 18 games over the past two years at AFL level for the Power.

He put his name right in the mix for round 1 with 21 disposals and five tackles against the Dockers, rotating between the midfield and half-forward line.

“He has had an outstanding pre-season,” Hinkley said.

“We are really proud of him because it hasn’t always been easy for him and he is trying to break into a pretty strong midfield but he can only do what he has been doing so far, he has been really clean right through the pre-season.”

Lachie Jones puts his head over the footy. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

The Power will be without forward Sam Powell-Pepper for the first four games of the season because of his suspension and Hinkley said Mead could replace him.

“Good form is good form,” he said.

“So you give yourself a chance but we need to get the balance right.”

Hinkley said he was particularly impressed with the Power’s defensive efforts.

“Most impressively for us tonight and probably over the last two weeks I think last week after four quarters we gave up 33 or 34 entries, tonight we gave up 37 maybe 38 in four quarters,” he said.

“So ultimately for us if we can defend like that sides need to be really accurate and efficient when they go forward, it happened last week (against Adelaide) not so much tonight.

“So that gives us a good base for us to go into round 1.

“It is a small sample size but we were hopeful once we added a couple of taller boys they would make a difference and Thatch (Brandon Zerk-Thatcher) has been good over the last couple and Esava (Ratugolea) tonight was pretty good for us.

“I thought Lachie Jones too, Lachie can play tall too, so it is a pretty big group you have to get past and if you can get some delay on you can get some pressure on the ball.”

Originally published as Ken Hinkley expects Port Adelaide star Zak Butters to feature in round 1 despite ankle injury scare