Butters makes AFL debut

By Todd Whelan

Former Darley Football Club product Zak Butters has impressed on debut with two, second quarter goals for Port Adelaide against Melbourne at the MCG last Saturday.
The Power went in as underdogs with up to six new faces in the line-up before charging onto a 26-point upset over last year’s Preliminary finalists.
Butters, who went pick 12 at the recent national draft looks right at home at the elite level with two impressive JLT pre-season matches and an AFL debut for premiership points now under his belt.
Zak played 84 per cent of game time for his two goals, four score involvements

and had 13 possessions, four contested.
Current Darley coach and 268 AFL gamer with Carlton/Collingwood Heath Scotland was confident that Butters could make it.
“He’s got all the attributes – skill, balance, versatility and wins his own ball,” he said in the aftermath of Butters high draft pick selection.
“Mentally tough, resilient, good character – he will flourish in a full time AFL environment,” Scotland said.
Butters, who played his entire 108 game junior football career at Darley is likely to hold his spot for next week’s Port match at home against Carlton on Saturday. To represent the Power in front of a hostile home crowd in full voice on a spectacular Adelaide Oval looms large as a moment in time Zak will not forget in a hurry.
According to the club’s social media platforms, Butters is being showed ‘the ropes’ by Port great and 200 gamer Robbie Gray who is a bona fide star of the competition and arguably one of their best to ever play for the club.
Let’s hope a bit of Robbie magic can rub off on Zak and given what little we’ve seen so far….maybe some already has.
Port Adelaide v Carlton – Saturday March 30th – 5.10pm @ Adelaide Oval