Port Adelaide assistant coach Josh Carr has taken a subtle swipe at rival coaches who have openly discussed their interest in Power star Zak Butters, suggesting he would handle such matters differently.
Carr's stance on public recruitment
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Carr stopped short of directly criticising his counterparts but made his feelings clear about the public pursuit of Butters, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
"I'm probably a little bit different than some coaches," Carr said. "Those conversations, if I do have them, you guys (media) won't know about."
Carr took a pointed jab at coaches who claim they don't like discussing other clubs' players but then proceed to do so at length. "I always love when a coach starts with 'I don't really like talking about other clubs' players', but then go for four-and-a-half, five minutes in talking about it," he said. "I'm different to that and ... you're talking about Bevo's conversations and media that he did and, yeah, I would tackle it a bit differently."
"Bevo" refers to Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge, who has publicly expressed the Bulldogs' interest in luring Butters on multiple occasions. Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell, Richmond's Adem Yze and Melbourne's Steven King have also openly commented on trying to secure the services of the Power star.
Butters' future remains uncertain
Butters is sticking to his plan of not deciding his future until the end of the season, as rival clubs prepare multimillion-dollar offers. During Port Adelaide's bye week, Butters was in Melbourne and reportedly held discussions with several clubs.
"Port Adelaide have accepted the fact now that he's going to be leaving, although they vehemently deny any sort of suggestion that he's told them yet," Caroline Wilson reported on Channel 7's The Agenda Setters on Monday. "We know he spoke to the Bulldogs over Port's bye round. We believe he's also spoken to the Richmond Football Club, among others. I think maybe Collingwood as well. Nick Daicos has been absolutely working on his great friend Zak Butters to come to Collingwood."
Wilson added that Butters has a relationship with Richmond's Sam Lalor, and Port Adelaide would prefer to deal with Richmond. "The Bulldogs believe they are in the box seat," she said.
Rozee ruled out for season
Butters, Port's triple club champion, continues to captain the 15th-placed Power, who host second-placed Sydney at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night. He has stepped in as skipper in the absence of Connor Rozee, who has been sidelined since tearing a hamstring tendon on March 22.
The Power mid-week ruled out any prospect of Rozee returning to action this season due to ongoing nerve problems around his left hamstring. "It is frustrating, but at the same time not unexpected with the type of injury it was," Carr said. "We all saw how it looked; we knew that with the nerve copping a pretty big whack when it happened. It's obviously flattening but ... it has been a great opportunity for him to get better as a leader."
Carr praised Rozee's development during his absence. "I have seen some amazing progress in him and his ability to get around the younger guys and build that connection and really use it as a real opportunity to grow as a leader," he said. "And I reckon when he comes back he's going to be a better leader, but also a better player."
