Port Adelaide acting captain Zak Butters said he loves playing in Showdowns and seeing how much they mean to South Australia. 

Butters will captain the side for the second Showdown of the year in the absence of skipper Connor Rozee, with the 25-year-old excited to don the 1914 Prison Bar guernsey, which honours The Invincibles. 

Speaking on Tuesday at Adelaide Oval alongside Taylor Walker, Butters talked about who could put their hand up for selection, the season so far, and what Showdowns mean to him. 

Butters on Showdown partner Variety’s impact 
“It’s an honour to play in the Showdown, and obviously to be sponsored by Variety for a number of years now, and the work they do in South Australia with disadvantaged kids, and also in clubland, and whatnot. So, they're a huge support, and very privileged to play in a round sponsored by them.” 

Butters on being acting captain this season 
“I feel like I've been asked that a bit this year, and I always answer with I'd much rather have Connor in one of my best mates out there by my side, so yeah, you sort of take it glass half full, glass half empty. I've also enjoyed the challenge of stepping up and leading the boys, and probably been leading the last couple of years, but probably in the backseat a bit. So it's been a good challenge for myself personally, and I've definitely learned a lot and continue to learn, and but I’ve really enjoyed it at the same time.” 

Butters on the injuries from the weekend 
“It's not what you want as a footy club. You want to see your best players out there fit and firing and playing good footy, but yeah, I guess that's a brutal game we play sometimes. Players do get injured, and it creates opportunities for others and people can step up and be better as well. And in saying that, we’ll wrap our arms around the boys that do go down, and looks like they're pretty serious injuries (Ratugolea and Mackinlay) as well, so try support them as best as we can. And then also uplift the group and get them up and going, because the reality of the business is you’ve got to get up and play footy again in four or five days' time, and that's what we look forward to as well. 

“Esava’s going to be out for a while with that injury, it's a pretty nasty one. I think he had surgery, maybe the next morning after the game, so he was in pretty quickly. So, I've spoken to him, and he's in good spirits now, and a lot of the boys have reached out to him and spoken to him, and he's a pretty positive guy, and pretty optimistic about what he can do, and he's also been faced with a few long-term injuries previously. We have full confidence that he’ll bounce back pretty quickly, and I think Jack's (Lukosius) more on the lower end, maybe a test to play this weekend, so he should train well and hopefully get up, so I think he avoided a serious injury.” 

Butters on the chances of a Showdown win 
“I think the game starts at 50/50 so we'll be out there, and I think judging by the last Showdown, they're always tight, they're always good games. So, yeah, we'll give ourselves every chance.” 

Butters on Sam Powell-Pepper’s return 
“That’s a positive for the footy club right now. Obviously, he'll make his return in the SANFL this weekend. He's been through a fair bit, the big fella, so it's going to be good to see him back out there and playing footy, and I guess that's where it starts with him, just getting back out there enjoying it. And obviously getting a bit of footy under his belt, and then hopefully post that can see him return to AFL level.” 

Butters on who could come into the AFL side this week 
“Yeah, I think like for like is probably Brandon (Zerk-Thatcher), I think Josh said after the game that he actually restricted from playing (SANFL on Sunday), so I feel that's a like for like. There will be a few other boys that have been playing SANFL and playing some good footy that will step up. I feel like you've got to find some depth and all teams get put in these situations throughout the year, so you’ve got to find a way sometimes.” 

Butters on the rest of the season 
“Yeah, I think no matter what it is, everything flows into something, like pre-seasons are a long time, or you can have a lot of losses, you want to build momentum and get wins for the footy club, especially with the younger group at the moment. You want to keep that energy high, and the more wins they can be a part of is actually going to be better for their development going forward. As someone who's in that middle tier age bracket, I'm getting a bit older now, you want to see them win, and ideally that fast tracks their development.” 

Butters on Jack Lukosius’ wing role 
“I thought he had a good start to the game. If you watch the first half, obviously his kicking, his running ability, and then he obviously provides a bit of height and versatility on the wing as well. I feel like he provides some different strengths to your typical winger. I think he should be right for this week.” 

Butters on the year so far 
“I think you can look at what ifs and losses, and the reality is we haven't got enough wins as we would have liked as a footy club and as a playing group. So you can buy into the losses and the close ones, but at the end of the day, they're losses, so we need to get better as a group, we know that and we're striving to be that as well. So we fully understand where we are right now.” 

Butters on the 1914 Prison Bar guernsey 
“It's a good one this week, and I feel like it's been a bit of a change up compared to previously. Obviously, we have a great history at the footy club, the 1914 team with The Invincibles, and what they did back then was pretty remarkable. So, I know the boys will be super proud to pull on the jumper and what it means with the history of the footy club., I'm sure a lot of past players will be proud to see the boys wear it.” 

Butters on playing Showdowns 
“I love playing in Showdowns. I love what they mean to South Australia and the Port Adelaide Football Club. I'll be out there and give them all like I always do. I think talking to the young blokes at the footy club, if you're not in contention for finals, this is probably as close as it gets, and the games you want to play in. You’ve seen Brayden Cook’s goal, like he's going to go down in history of Showdowns and football in Adelaide, so yeah, (the fans) remember everything, especially both sides of the fence, they're big games, and you can really make a name for yourself.” 

Butters on Taylor Walker’s form in Showdowns 
“He's caused a few (headaches) over the years, he’s kicked a fair few goals against us. So I feel like Aliir and himself have had some good battles over the years, and some of our other defenders, but hopefully a few less goals from the big fella on the weekend.” 

Butters on coaches speaking about pursuing players from other clubs 
“I guess that's something I can't really control myself. I think Josh (Carr) probably said it pretty well that we wouldn't do that at our football club, and that’s something I respect about Josh. But I can't physically or mentally control what they do with their time and energy, so I just focus on what my job is as captain of the footy club and leading the boys well and working with Josh closely to try and get wins.” 

Butters on handling the speculation about his future this year 
“I guess, to an extent, you know it’s going to come. As always, I'm in a pretty good position as well, and I'm pretty grateful to be playing AFL footy, and I'm pretty grateful for the spot I'm in to lead my teammates and be a leader of the footy club. So, for mine, there's a lot more good days than bad days, and 99% of time, you just laugh it off, it is what it is. You’ve got your mates, you’ve got your family, you’ve got your teammates, you’ve got a good footy club behind you, so yeah, there's no complaints for mine. 

“Obviously the rounds are counting down towards the end of the season, so it gets closer and closer, but for me, nothing's really changed. I'll still make my decision at the end of the year and sit down with the club and my manager, and that will still be the end goal for me.”