Port Adelaide coach Josh Carr says he has done all he can to convince star midfielder Zak Butters to remain at the club beyond this season, admitting he has been "in his ear enough".
Butters, who is out of contract at the end of the season, will play his 150th AFL match when the Power host Carlton at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night. The Victorian-born star will then return to Darley, northwest of Melbourne, during the club's bye the following weekend to discuss his future with family.
The 25-year-old is being heavily pursued by Victorian clubs, with the Western Bulldogs, Geelong and Hawthorn considered frontrunners should he decide to leave Port Adelaide.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Carr said he had already done plenty of talking to Butters about his future. "I have been in his ear enough, I reckon. I don't think he needs me in his ear at all," Carr said.
Carr, in his first year as head coach after a long stint as an assistant, praised Butters for his continued on-field excellence despite the off-field speculation. "He plays the game one way, he trains one way, he only knows one way to play footy," Carr said. "He has been a pleasure to coach. My experience with him as midfield coach, growing with him over the last few years, and then seeing the player that he is now - credit to him, and the footy club as well, in the development of him."
Butters earlier this week spoke about the emotion surrounding his looming decision and the impact Carr has had on him. Carr said he had approached Butters in the same way the club approaches all players: by fostering a positive culture. "I have approached him the way that we're doing as the football club: that the culture is great for everyone to be around," Carr said. "We want to be here specifically for Zak. It's about the team, it's about him enjoying his football here and him enjoying the people around him."
Carr said Butters had been a key figure in building that culture. "He's a leader of our football club and the culture that everyone has created," he said. "It's not about just me as a coach or us coaches. It's about the football club - it's upstairs, downstairs, and the environment that we create together."
