Trade talk: Rival clubs should pounce on Butters' Port vulnerability

Rival clubs should sense a vulnerability and make immediate moves for Port Adelaide’s star midfielder Zak Butters.

Butters, who has been linked to Geelong and the Western Bulldogs in particular, is facing an uncertain future with the Power following their coaching overhaul.

Senior coach Ken Hinkley is set to depart at the end of 2025 and Port just announced that long-time assistant Chad Cornes will also not be offered a contract in 2026.

2024 best and fairest winner Butters is now suddenly going to be without the two figures he's been closest to throughout his Port career.

Channel 7's Mitch Cleary wonders if Victorian clubs will sense some vulnerability in Butters and pursue him fiercely.

“Zak Butters is a person of interest who has a year left to run on his contract before free agency,” Mitch Cleary said on The Agenda Setters.

“What sort of impact does this have on a player like Zak Butters, who we understand was quite close with Ken Hinkley, but equally as close with Chad Cornes?”

Dale Thomas highlighted that losing the two most important people in his football development is certainly not an ideal situation for the vice-captain.

“He’s openly spoke about how good he (Cornes) has been for his development, and also what Kenny has done,” Thomas said.

“When you are a player who loves both of the senior figures who won’t be there, and you’re contemplating leaving the football club, it’s not ideal.

“Obviously Josh Carr will have the sell there as well. But in terms of experience left on that coaching panel, it’s very young now. Chad (Cornes) was more experienced than the rest of them.”

Former Hawks premiership captain Luke Hodge admitted that if he were a rival he would be gunning for the Port star.

“If I was an opposition club I’d be going straight after Butters,” Hodge admitted.

“Because if you’re here ready to make a decision on my future, all of a sudden the coach you’ve got a great relationship with is leaving.

“The assistant coach in Chad, every player you speak to loves him, suddenly that club is going backwards rather than forwards.

“If I was a Victorian club I’d be going straight to his manager right now and saying his two mentors are now leaving the football club.

“They’re not on the way up, I’d be going straight after him. Because this is the most vulnerable time.

“Put it into his mind knowing that the two blokes who have helped build his career at Port Adelaide won’t be there anymore.

“I’d be chasing him for sure.”

Garry Lyon agrees that clubs should be trying to swoop on the vulnerable Butters.

“If there’s any chance, you can pry him out of there, and if this just opens the door marginally, then you put your crowbar in there and try and jimmy him out of that joint,” he said on SEN Breakfast.

Kane Cornes chimed in and spoke directly about why his brother Chad was let go by the club, citing a loyalty to Hinkley ahead of the Josh Carr handover as his major downfall.

“It’s that time for a number of assistant coaches unfortunately,” Cornes told SEN’s Sportsday.

“Not ideal, always a difficult time for anyone when you lose your job and you wonder what is next.

“He was very popular amongst the playing group and had a really close relationship with Ken.

“Some of the feedback to him was that his loyalty to Ken was a factor and one of the reasons why they let him go. You feel like that’s a bit harsh because you are loyal to the coach until they’re not the coach any more.

“Maybe some others were seeing the writing on the wall and aligned themselves to ‘Carry’.

“It’s a change, it’s a big call for Josh (Carr) to make considering they’ve been good mates for a long period of time.”

Cornes added that his brother is in high spirits following the upsetting news.

“He was told maybe a week ago. I’ve had many chats to him since,” he revealed on The Agenda Setters.

“He’s really good, he’s excited for the next challenge.

“His biggest strength is the relationships he has built with the players and that will always be his biggest strength if he stays in the AFL system.

“He’s in a really good space. I think he’s going to coach out the rest of the season and do his best to win as many games with Kenny as he possibly can.

“But I think the alignment to Ken and how loyal he had been to Ken came back to hurt him in the end.”

With Butters only having a year left on his contract before free agency, the timing could not be better for rival clubs readying themselves to strike.