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Like any good story, Port Adelaide's 2023 season had three distinctive acts - the streak, the trough and September. Between Rounds 4 and 17, the Power, led by blue-chip picks in Zak Butters and Connor Rozee, strung
13 consecutive wins together. Yet by mid-July into August, Ken Hinkley's charges were short-circuiting to drop games to Carlton, Collingwood, Geelong and the hated Crows. And, as has become custom at Alberton, the daggers were out again in September, with the Power proving impotent, bundled out in straight sets losses to Brisbane and GWS by an average of almost six goals per game.
However, with Hinkley onboard and several young stars still on the rise, writing Port off in 2024 could prove a poor move.
After featuring in finals and fortifying things behind the ball last season, Hinkley and the Power will be keen to see their side not just returning to September but having a successful finals run.
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And without a win in a do-or-die final since 2014, those at Alberton will have their sights set on proving they are premiership contenders and not just pretenders. Strong enough to edge any opponent on their day, sides will fear travelling to the City of Churches if Port prove powerful again in 2024.
Whippet-sized, but whippet-paced, Butters announced himself as one of the game's premier midfielders across the course of the 2023 season.
Having shifted into the engine room in 2022, the Victorian ramped things up again throughout 2023, playing in all 25 of Port's fixtures and averaging 27.5 disposals, 4.4 clearances and an elite five marks each outing. Butters earned his flowers at the completion of the season, claiming a debut John Cahill Medal, his first All-Australian blazer and a top- four finish on Brownlow night.