Zak Butters – Deck of Dream Team 2023

Player	Zak Butters
Club	Port Adelaide
Position	Midfielder/Forward
Price	$764,000
Bye	Round 15
2022 avg	86.3
2022 gms	20
Proj. avg	97 – 102
Draft range	Third Round

Click here for 2023 Fantasy Classic prices.

Why should I pick him?

The 2023 season is upon us and eager coaches are on the lookout for breakout candidates who can score well above their starting price to set their squad apart from the competition. Coming in at a measly 7% ownership is Port Adelaide’s Mid/Fwd dynamo, Zak Butters. Taken at pick 12 in the 2018 National Draft, fantasy pundits have been predicting a Butters breakout season for the last couple of years. With a strong finish to the back half of the 2022 fantasy season capped off with a mighty 107.4 average in his last five games, this year bodes to be the one where Butters establishes himself as a bonafide premium selection in our squads.

It comes as no shock that there have been fever-pitch discussions around a couple of the Port Adelaide fantasy assets given their scoring improvements last year, but it seems Connor Rozee is getting all the plaudits whilst Zak Butters continues to slip under the radar similar to a margarine like substance on a hot pan. A quick comparison of the two confirms this, with Rozee currently sitting in a whopping 40% of teams whilst Butters remains tucked at the back of the refrigerator in only 7%. Should the ownership be this stark between the two assets who both put up 107 in their last five and whose 2022 season averages are a slender 2pts apart?

Flipping the script perhaps it really should be Butters who you need to pay more respect to when picking your starting squad and here’s why. He managed to increase his average by 10pts up to 86.3 over the course of the season having attended an average of only 38% of CBAs per game, bucking the trend that midfielders need to attend a high CBA split to correlate to competitive fantasy output. CBA rotations can chop and change throughout the season proper, so it’s a promising and somewhat slept-on component of his game that he’s been able to have such fantasy production from a marginal split in the engine room. Add this to the fact that he sits well down the pecking order of Port Adelaide tag targets, you’d be crazy not to consider him in your starting squad.

As earlier touched on Butters came home with a wet sail posting scores of 83, 103, 116, 114 and 121 to close out his 2022 campaign at an average of 107.4 in his last five. This hot streak lifted his season average to 86.3 which still provides enough upside to warrant selection especially in your forward line. At a conservative estimate he should elevate his game further in 2023 closer to the 97-102 avg mark making him a genuine top-six forward candidate coming in well underpriced.

Spread the word, Zak Butters should be in your team…

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

One of the most exciting parts of Butter’s game is also one that makes fantasy owners cringe. His hard at it, crash and bash pseudo kamikaze style of football makes for fantastic viewing as footy fans, but leaves more questions over whether his body can hold up to the rigors of which he plays. Time and time again we’ve seen Zak pick up innocuous injuries that his smaller-than-most 75kg frame can’t handle, which can hamper his scoring output and lead to time on the sidelines. As bullish as I am on him and how good of a fantasy prospect he is, the fact that he’s been medically subbed out of three games in the past two seasons and has missed 14 games over that same period of time just won’t melt away.

This develops into more of a burning smell when looking at his scoring floor; dropping some absolute round wreckers destined for the Weekend Washup when picking up either a niggle or a more serious injury. His 86.3 avg in 2022 looks handsome enough on the surface but covers up five sub-65 scores in the process. Something something trust the process, but no matter which way you cut it if this bloke drops you a sub-65 score in a must-win weekly matchup, you’ll be churning out the expletives all weekend. If there’s even a minor injury concern out of Port Adelaide in the preseason expect Butters ownership to plummet off the back of his previous concerns.

Deck of DT Rating.

KING

All aboard Zak Butters to kick off the 2023 season, make some room in the forward line because he deserves a spot. Having discovered the perfect mix at Port Adelaide of enough CBAs without sacrificing his impact forward of centre, the only thing holding him back from being an Ace in this year’s Deck of DT is his injury concerns. Truth be told at his starting price and only 7% ownership currently, tell your friends there’s more than enough Zak Butters to spread around.

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