Zac Butters?? I. DON'T. CARE.

[NAUGHTY100]

Let me start here: I love watching Zac Butters play football.

He’s a competitor. A jet. A guy who somehow combines that slick, outside class with real inside aggression. He never looks out of place, never goes missing, and always seems to be in the middle of the moment when Port need someone to stand up. Honestly, if you were starting a midfield from scratch, he’d be one of the first names on the whiteboard.

But here’s the thing.

I don’t want him.

Not because he’s not good enough — he’s a superstar. Not because he wouldn’t help us — he would. But because chasing big-name players with massive contracts rarely guarantees anything except cap pressure, distraction, and the eventual departure of your own.

We’re the Western Bulldogs. And right now, for all the frustration, we’ve got something special brewing.

We’ve got Joel Freijah and Rylee Sanders.
We’ve got Cody Weightman (injured, again I know) and Sam Darcy.
We *MIGHT* somehow-still-have-the-only-23-year-old Jamarra.
We've even got Lachie McNeil and Harvey Gallagher. You might LOL at this - but I don't. They're OURS!

We’ve drafted well. We’ve been patient. And some of these guys — maybe even two or three of them — are going to be stars.

If we blow up the salary cap to bring in Zac Butters, what message does that send? Not just to the locker room, but to the kids we’re trying to build a team around? How are we going to keep the band together when the next re-signing deadline rolls around? How does Sanders get inside mid time when you add a Butters to the mix??

And it’s not like there's a guarantee of success. Just ask the LA Kings.

Back in 1988, the Kings pulled off the biggest trade in sports history — they landed Wayne Gretzky. The best hockey player in the world. Maybe the best athlete in any sport, ever. And did they win a championship?

Nope.

They made the Finals once (in 1993), and then slowly faded. Meanwhile, the Oilers — the team that lost Gretzky — actually won another Stanley Cup without him the very next year. Go figure. The same thing happen when Sydney pulled off the Buddy Franklin heist. The didn't win one - but Hawthorn won another without him.

Because sometimes, building a team is less about chasing headlines, and more about cultivating belief. Sometimes the real superstars are the ones you’ve already got — if you give them time, trust, and a role to grow into.

So yeah, I’ll still admire Zac Butters every time he puts on the Port jumper. I’ll still rate him as one of the best players in the comp.

But I don’t want him.

I want us.

I want to watch Freijah turn into the best two-way wingman in the AFL.
I want to see Sanders rack up 35 and two in a final.
I want to see Jamarra kick five in a prelim and smile like a kid.
I want to build something that lasts — not just buy something that sells.

So thanks, but no thanks. We don’t need Zac Butters. Or Bergman. Or anyone else we're rumoured to be throwing money at. Leave that kind of stuff to Carlton (how IS Zac Williams going by the way??) and whichever other plastic teams out there who think that ONE PLAYER will put them over the top.

Draft your stars. Recruit experienced role players (Hey - Matt Kennedy, that's you!! Hey Lachie Bramble, that's you!) to fill in the gaps.

#cancelfreeagency

I get where your coming from totally , but my concern would be if you give up the chance to recruit a guy like Butters ,( who is a complete game changer ) and you dont take that opportunity and miss out on him , and cool you have money in the kitty for the likes of Darcy , Sanders , and so on so forth , but then down the track one of thoes guys gets a god father offer and wants to go , where do you stand then , you'v lost out on Butters and one of the guys you'v specifically not gone for Butters wants to leave .
Sure you have now plenty of salary cap space but no Butters to use it on .
I hate disagreeing with you on anything because you know your stuff , but this time nah you go for Butters if the oppurtunity is there .
You get him in and then deal with your salary cap and players later , if a window of oppurtunity appears , dont pull down the shade .

[jazzadogs]

If we recruit Butters as a 25 year old he will probably play 150 games for us. He replaces Bailey Smith on the list, as they were in the same draft, but he is better.

It's a no brainer for me.