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Maligned Port Adelaide forward John Butcher has put his hand up for Round 1 selection with a
strong performance against crosstown rivals Adelaide in the NAB Challenge.
The former top ten draft pick kicked five goals, including a freakish effort with the outside of his boot, while the Power were easily contained by a fired up Crows outfit at Football Park.
While pre-season matches may not typically be the ideal yardstick for a player’s form, the case of Butcher on Saturday may give fans a glimpse into how physical fitness and confidence could translate into real AFL form for the key forward.
Butcher began the day with a contested pack mark and goal in the goal square and never looked back, finishing with seven marks – three of those contested – to go with his bag of points. It’s not his stats which demonstrate why this performance was so encouraging however, but the way in which the 23-year-old attacked the football with a belief often lacking over his years at AFL level.
It was the freakish, somewhat lucky goal scored with the outside of the Maffra man’s boot in the final term which highlighted this attack, as he ran towards the goal at full pace from some distance just to get near possession. This is an enormous contrast from previous seasons where the he almost looked to shy away from where the ball was going due to a complete lack of confidence.
Butcher has endured a torrid time with injury interruptions and poor form since bursting onto the scene in late 2011, as his teammates have come on leaps and bounds under the influence of head coach Ken Hinkley.
Hinkley says that Butcher has done “90 per cent of pre-season” and is now “physically ready to compete” after years of false starts. With a structural hole in the forward line evident in 2014 when Port opted to run with veterans Jay Schulz and Justin Westhoff as its only tall forwards, and gun recruit Paddy Ryder’s availability uncertain for the start of the season, now may be the perfect time for the player once dubbed ‘The Future’ to cement a place in the Power’s best 22.
While there are still concerns over Butcher’s notorious kicking action, this could be remedied as a routine is put into practice at the top level and as confidence grows with fitness and consistent selection. Clunking marks and kicking goals may be KPIs for Butcher individually, but the most important thing for Port Adelaide is a third tall forward to straighten up the structure in a team which is dominated by small runners such as Kane Mitchell and Jake Neade.
During their barren run of form in the middle of 2014, the Power struggled to have targets up the ground as key forward-cum-utility Westhoff often played loose in defence, leaving full forward Schulz to come up to the wing, abandoning the forward 50. The introduction of a third tall, a role which most have picked Ryder to play, should give them more options to kick to while freeing up the agile Westhoff to play the midfield role he has been learning over summer.
Entering his fifth year in the system, Butcher may have to grasp this chance before the return of the likely unavailable Ryder, because there may not be a time as good as now in the future.
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