Four Victorian powerhouse clubs in race to sign under contract Port Adelaide superstar
Four Victorian powerhouse clubs will attempt to lure Port Adelaide superstar Zak Butters this year, despite being contracted for 2026.
The back-to-back Power best and fairest winner becomes a free agent at the end of 2026, and Footy Classified's Sam McClure says Essendon, Richmond, Hawthorn and Collingwood believe he is gettable this year.
"There are now four Victorian clubs who are aware that his head may be turned not next year during free agency, but at the end of this season," McClure told Nine's Footy Classified.
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Zak Butters. Getty
"Now there is a myriad of reasons why they think that the Bacchus Marsh boy may do that. One being that Port Adelaide might not be the powerhouse that Zak Butters was hoping they would be, particularly going into this year.
"The second crucial element of this is that Zak Butters is one of a select few at Port Adelaide who has developed an extremely close bond to Ken Hinkley.
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"Hinkley is leaving at the end of the year. It's not to say he doesn't have a good relationship with Josh Carr, but those four clubs think that he might be on the chopping block as soon as this year."
McClure added that the Power may be more likely to let go of Butters this year, given the significant compensation they would receive via a trade, as opposed to free agency.
"(They may let him leave) If Port don't have the year that they were hoping for and all of a sudden you're getting offered high-end draft picks, particularly by the likes of Richmond and Essendon, both of whom have two first round picks in the upcoming draft," he said.
Butters has missed the start of the season after undergoing knee surgery and is expected to miss up to another month.
He has also previously been linked with the Western Bulldogs.
