Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters, Connor Rozee speak to Mark Soderstrom on The Soda Room podcast

Zak Butters explains how one moment on a Port pre-season camp allowed him to open up about a family secret like never before. Listen to him and Connor Rozee chat with Mark Soderstrom.

Port Adelaide young gun Zak Butters had never opened up to anyone about his sister and her ice addiction.
Until one day at a Power pre-season camp allowed him to speak about it for the very first time.
Listen to Butters tell the story - along with fellow Port rising star Connor Rozee - to Mark Soderstrom on The Soda Room podcast.

Mark Soderstrom with Port Adelaide players Zak Butters and Connor Rozee for The Soda Room podcast. Picture: Supplied

ZAK BUTTERS AND CONNOR ROZEE SPEAK TO MARK SODERSTROM IN THE SODA ROOM

The Soda Room is presented in collaboration with the Sunday Mail.
Below is an edited transcript of the podcast – listen in full in the player above.

Mark Soderstrom: Zak Butters, Connor Rozee, thanks for joining us. Connor, tell us something about Zak that we might not know, besides the fact I think he puts tomato sauce on everything?

Connor Rozee: He’s a bit of a clean freak, surprisingly. So I know he’s had a couple of boys live with him and he’s given them the stern word to tidy up their act. He’s got Francis Evans moving in with him after Christmas so I’ll be really interested to see how that goes.

MS:And Zak, tell us about Connor. Obviously now he’s become the poster child of Port Adelaide Football Club now that he’s won the John Cahill Medal (as the club’s best and fairest player), but tell us something about him that we might not know.

Zak Butters: He’s gone full reno mode – he’s just got a new house. So all off-season, he’s pretty hard to get a hold of, other than the two weeks we had him in America.

He reckons he was ringing tradies and organising – organising deals and getting on the tools. And then I spoke to his old man at the B&F. And old mate Rob (Connor’s dad) just reckons he (Connor) is just popping in and out as he pleases and Rob was stuck there doing all the work, so I don’t know how much work Roze actually has done on the house yet. But yeah, he reckons he’s gone full Block mode.

MS: Zak, if you’re happy to talk about this, I think it was after your first season and you guys were up at a camp at Maroochydore with Hugh Van Cuylenburg when you shared your story about your sister and her ice addiction. And now she’s through that. How do you feel about that now?

ZB: Yeah, I remember we had the meeting at the club, before we were going to the camp. And he (Hugh) said, I need 12 people (to open up about their lives), so just text me. And I pretty much texted him that night. I think once I texted him that I already felt like a bit of pressure was off me, because then I’m like ... I’ve sort of never had an opportunity in the past to actually just get it off my chest. So I think I just needed the opportunity and it had probably been two or three years since the actual incident with my sister and I’d just never spoken to anyone about it.

Port Adelaide players Zak Butters and Connor Rozee on Mark Soderstrom's podcast The Soda Room. Picture: Supplied

MS: How did you feel once you’ve done it?

ZB: I remember Hugh saying the first day or two after you might feel regret or feel like it’s bad or feel like everyone’s sort of talking about it or whatever. And I think the first day after it was a bit weird, because you didn’t know how people were going to respond to it. And I think ever since then it’s been fine.

I think that, yes, it has been so good to move on and not leave it behind, and that everyone knows and it’s not a big issue really, which I was probably playing out in my mind that it was bigger than it actually was. And I think that’s the main thing.

I’ve had so many people message me or come talk to me about their own family and their own issues. And I think it makes you think like, at the end of day it’s not that big of a deal. Like, it happens pretty commonly and there’s others out there.

MS: Everyone has a story and their family has a story and you never know what’s happening. It’s great now that people are opening up and being vulnerable because it’s a massive strength. Is that becoming, within the club, something that you see people feel much more comfortable in their own skin?

CR: Yeah. 100 per cent We’ve had a few people like Hugh come into the club and drive that. There’s a lot that goes on behind closed doors that people often don’t share. But because we spend so much time together, it’s great to get to know people.

MS: And Zak, can I ask, how is your sister now?

ZB: She’s good. She just had a baby. He’s five months old now. So yeah, she’s good. She’s living back home in country Victoria. Looking forward to going over at Christmas and seeing him. He’s growing pretty fast. I get to see him every month or so by the time I get back home. So every time I get home I’m like, gee whiz, babies grow fast.

MS: What a great story. So now she’s in a really good place?

ZB: Yeah, she’s in a really good place. She’s had a partner for a few years now and a baby. So Mum and Dad are enjoying that. And yeah, family’s good.

MS: And you’re uncle Zak.

ZB: Yeah, Uncle Zak! It should be interesting. I don’t know how I’ll go on babysitting duties or anything but happy to buy the footies and all the gear.

Port Adelaide's Zak Butters and Connor Rozee Picture: Michael Sullivan

MS: How is your family now after going through all that? Must just feel brilliant. And tight and strong?

ZB: Yeah, it’s really good. Just, especially, I think a baby always connects families and brings people together as well. So yeah, he’s starting to crawl around and get his teeth as well. So it’s been pretty funny.

And yeah, I’ve never had a little brother or anything like that. So yeah, looking forward to when he can kick the footy and probably when he starts being a little chirpy bugger as well. It should be funny.

MS: You’ve both had four years now at this top level. Zak, what’s the best part of being an AFL footballer?

ZB: It’s lived up to everything I dreamt of as a kid. The best part is probably just that half an hour after the game where you’ve just achieved something with a lot of your mates.

I think if you ask most people that’s it – you’re sort of just not really thinking about too much other than just that feeling. And that adrenalin rush you get post the win when the crowd’s going crazy, when you’re walking off and then just going back in the changerooms and there’s no worries in the world for that half and hour.

MS: What about for you, Connor?

CR:Coming into work and having 45 of your best mates who are all striving towards a similar goal essentially. So it’s pretty cool compared to most jobs, where people probably dread coming into work and sitting at a desk or being around people that they don’t like that much. It’s really nice to have people who are similar minded and also striving towards the same thing. Team sports are great for that.

MS: What’s the biggest thing you’ve got to deal with as an AFL player?

ZB: The sacrifices, like not seeing family and friends and missing events and stuff but in the end it’s all worth it to win games and to get that feeling post-footy.

So I think you take the good with the bad and the bad with the good. So I think, probably just the sacrifice of me moving away from home but I am creating my own network over here now and got really good friends and in a really good team and be a part of something cool.

MS: Connor, Do you read the paper? Do you look at social media? Or do you just block yourself from all of that?

CR:Early days I used to be a reader of most things and that’s probably because most of it was positive coming in our first year was, like you said before, pretty decent in terms of our form. And we were winning a fair few games.

So yeah, I used to read it. But then I guess you go through a patch where you’re not playing so well. And all of a sudden, everyone jumps off the bandwagon. You’re the worst football player in the state, and everyone hates you.

So I think that’s probably the most frustrating part for me is I’ve learned over the first couple of years to deal with that. And I don’t read it any more on my social media, it’s just my family and friends.

MS: Who do you surround yourself with? Who do you listen to, obviously outside of family, but do you have particular people who guide you through?

CR: My family is probably my main one and also my partner. I pretty much told them that when I come home, I hate talking about footy. So it’s nice and refreshing to come home and talk about what other people are doing or you know, the house I’m doing at the moment or what I’m studying.

It’s quite refreshing because I’ve never been a footy head. I didn’t grow up watching heaps of games on the weekend and that sort of thing. I love my other sports. I love cricket and soccer.

I wouldn’t watch any games on the weekend of football. Unless it’s a big game and there’s 10 minutes left and someone else is watching it then I might sit down and have a look. But I’d much rather flick on some EPL or NBA.

Zak Butters of the Power celebrates kicking a goal against Essendon earlier this year. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

MS: Zak, are you a footy head?

ZB: Yeah, I’m a little bit different. Growing up I used to watch like, seven games a weekend, pretty much. And then yeah, not as much now but I probably still watch three or four games a weekend and yeah, I think it’s nice watching other people.
I think I’m probably more watching it now from an education point of things and just the enjoyment of seeing good players do good things.
I’m not one to sit there and get into teams or get into players; I just like sitting and watching players do good things and yeah, trying to take that to my own game.

But like Connor said, I think Mum and Dad and my partner have just been really good. They always know that you probably talked to most people about footy, so when you’re with them, it’s pretty much, there’s not too much footy spoken about. And this is lots of laughs and yeah, just bringing up good times.

MS: Connor, you look to me like one of those blokes at school that really annoyed you because you would have been good at everything. Were you a good cricketer, good tennis player? Good at everything you take on?

CR: Cricket was probably my main sport growing up actually until 15-ish. We actually moved down from the country so that I could play cricket and my sister was at school. So interestingly, I didn’t probably change to football as my main sport until under-16s.

MS: What did you get for your year 12 score? I’m guessing it was probably 98 points or something?

CR: It wasn’t quite that good. Ask him (Zak) what he got (laughs)?

ZB:I was, (laughs) I was mid 20s … out of 100. I remember telling Mum throughout the year, “I’m tracking well here Mum, putting in the work and stuff”. And then, we were actually on the bus, we were on our first camp (when I got my results) and there were a few boys around. I didn’t think it was going to be that bad. I thought maybe like 40 or 50. And then 24.

I remember messaging Mum and she thought I was joking, and I’m like, nah, I’m not joking. So lucky footy worked out.

MS: Did you go to school often?

ZB: Yeah. I had a shoulder reco. So I used that as an excuse to not go for two or three weeks and in that two or three weeks, I just didn’t study at all, didn’t do any of the work they’d sent me and then I come back from that, dropped a subject and then just started going to the gym in that subject instead of studying. The gym didn’t actually help me too much either!

MS: The one thing I would add, given what you’ve talked about with your family over the past few years, is your emotional intelligence is probably a 98 out of 100.Boys, it’s been an absolute pleasure. I love watching you both play and I can’t wait to see you guys finally crack that flag in the next couple of years.

Originally published as Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters, Connor Rozee speak to Mark Soderstrom on The Soda Room podcast