Best in the business

AFL TV commentators have said “it is getting ridiculous how good this guy is, absolutely ridiculous”, well, ridiculous is now reality after the boy from Darley topped off his remarkable season with a huge reward last week.

The career of Zak Butters started at grassroots level with Darley football club, he now wears number nine for AFL club Port Adelaide.

Last Wednesday at a gala event in Melbourne, Butters received his maiden All-Australian blazer, along with the AFL Coaches Champion Player of the Year Award, the second youngest at just 22 years and 353 days, polling 109 votes, in 16 of 23 matches, that consisted of ten votes in seven rounds during the 2023 Home & Away season.

The Power star beat Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli (102 votes) and fellow Brownlow fancy Nick Daicos (99 votes) to take home the coveted award.

Upon receiving the Champion Player of the Year award, Butters said as a senior premiership player for Darley, it set him up for his AFL Career.
“I thank coach Health Scotland for picking me to play as a 15-year-old, he definitely helped me,” he said.

“My heroes are at Darley, and I really looked up to them when I would go and watch them every Saturday. It is a memory for life and some of the best days of my life.”

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley was thrilled to see his midfield star take out the award.

“Zak is an exceptional person and the ultimate professional, and we are seeing the rewards this season of all the work he puts in,” he said.

“Considering his size, he is fearless with the way he attacks the ball, and he’s got this amazing ability to make special things happen for our team and to influence a game like not many others can.

“I believe that being voted by the coaches as the league’s Champion Player is one of the highest honours a player can receive, and I could not be prouder that Zak has been recognised with this award.”

His AFL debut was in 2019 and impressed with two, second quarter goals for Port Adelaide against Melbourne at the MCG.

Butters was ranked third in the 2023 AFL Players’ Association Most Valuable Player Award.