Everyone wants to butter up Zak. But can a deal get done?

The war gaming attached to the potential return of Port Adelaide free agent Zak Butters to Victoria is well under way as rival clubs explore ways to land the two-time All-Australian.

The smart money has Butters joining the Western Bulldogs or Geelong at the end of the season, although he is certain to be on the shopping list of every club east of the South Australian border.

Port Adelaide can afford to keep him if he decides to stay at the club he clearly loves, but are not going to push the issue with a player whose decision won’t be about money.

The most compelling consideration if Butters opts to leave is what bounty might be available to Port Adelaide as they position themselves for academy graduate Dougie Cochrane at the end of this season, and father-son prospect Louis Salopek at the end of 2027.

Based on their round one performance, Port Adelaide are shaping as a bottom-six finisher but a mooted change in the rules relating to free agency compensation could deny them a top pick as compensation for Butters.

Under rules being considered, the free agency compensation would not deliver a pick inside the top 10 to clubs who lose a free agent, as the AFL attempts to give teams that finish at or near the bottom of the ladder as clear a run as possible to elite draft talent.

Such a change would incentivise Port Adelaide even further to match any offer to Butters to force a trade if he decided to leave.

The Bulldogs – a beneficiary of father-son selections over the years – may not have early first-round picks to offer if their current form continues this season.

Even if they replicated the price Sydney paid to secure Charlie Curnow from Carlton (a first-round pick in each of the next three seasons, plus a player), Port Adelaide would receive picks in the teens in 2026, and picks in 2027 and 2028 in drafts compromised by the competition’s expansion into Tasmania.

The value of those picks is unlikely – on face value – to satisfy the points required to secure Cochrane (if he continues on his trajectory) without Port Adelaide going into deficit, making it even more difficult for them to execute a strategy developed before the introduction of the new rules.

Geelong will be in a similar boat as the Bulldogs in developing a trade package to satisfy Port Adelaide.

Of course, both clubs will have more leverage than Sydney had when chasing Curnow as Butters will be out of contract.

Such a situation leaves clubs such as Melbourne (whose finishing position remains difficult to predict) and Richmond with a chance to enter the market with at least a trade package that could deliver Port Adelaide something commensurate with Butters’ value.

It won’t happen, but allowing clubs to trade without players’ consent would sharpen up the equalisation dilemma.

For now, it’s the impact the AFL’s upcoming draft rule changes will have on the Butters scenarios that will highlight whether introducing the changes now supports equalisation, or makes the gap even wider.

Long-term Luke felt pressure before signing

North Melbourne midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke is one of 15 players across the competition on long-term contracts that expire in 2032, 2033 or 2034.

He is also starting to hit his straps, with five Brownlow votes in the final two rounds of last season preceding another excellent performance in round one on the weekend.

Davies-Uniacke told this masthead after the win on Sunday that the decision of whether or not to stick with the Kangaroos was more disruptive than the pressure attached to signing a long-term deal on big money.

“It’s a crazy difference from last year, having all this sort of external pressure, and all this weight on the shoulders of [having] choices to make, [and] decisions to weigh up. It probably impacted on my football, to be honest, but once I signed on that dotted line all that weight and pressure came off,” Davies-Uniacke said.

Davies-Uniacke signed his seven-year contract extension in April last year after contemplating his future throughout pre-season.

The game breaker said the Kangaroos’ environment in 2026 was only focused on each person playing their role.

“There aren’t many pressures, to be honest. Everyone’s at the same level – there’s no superstar,” he said.

Greene is a stayer

Whenever Giants captain Toby Greene is on the free agency list, clubs will discuss the prospect of luring him away from the club he defines more than any other player.

They need not try too hard, though, as Greene says his contract will be sorted at the right time after he spent the off-season worrying about recovering from troublesome glutes.

“I’m sure it will get done in the next few months,” Greene said.

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