Zak Butters is expected to play through discomfort for Port Adelaide, and Hawthorn will be targeting the star midfielder’s sore ribs in Friday night’s semi-final.
Last Thursday night, in the Power’s loss to Geelong in the qualifying final, Butters was replaced.
The dual All-Australian participated in some light drills but wore a pink cap to indicate that there would be no contact.
After training, teammate Willem Drew told reporters, “Obviously he’s in the pink hat so he didn’t train fully but when he was out there he was moving well.”
“He’s giving playing every opportunity. We obviously still have a few days to see how he performs, but we’re hoping to see him there.
“He has been cleared of any structural damage, but he will likely engage in some contact training later to be sure.
“‘Butts’ is probably one of the most competitive people I have ever met – if he can play any sport and he’s fit enough to play, he’ll be out there.”
During the sudden-death semifinal, Drew stated that Hawthorn would put Butters’ injury to the test physically.
“I’ve got no doubt, if he’s got sore ribs, he will probably get a few hip and shoulders and whatnot,” he said.
“However, he’ll probably be anticipating that. And if he’s not right, he won’t be outside.”
The Power, humiliated by Geelong at home, will be leaving the finals with a string of defeats for the second year in a row.
Drew refuted claims that Port’s team was psychologically damaged despite the team losing to the Cats by 84 points after losing to them by 23, 48, and 71 points in the previous finals.
“Personally I don’t think so, but our record obviously isn’t great,” he said.
Earlier than usual after the game, power players were called in for a review on Saturday, where they engaged in “open and honest conversations” regarding their most recent finals failure.
“It was probably more just around our workrate and effort – and if we don’t show up with that, then we’re probably no hope of winning,” Drew said.
“It was a massive game for us and for some reason we didn’t show up.”
When asked why, Drew replied that it was still unclear exactly why.
“It’s probably a difficult thing to sort of say ‘This was the reason, or this and that’,” he said.
“It’s hard to pinpoint one thing … we definitely don’t want the same thing to happen again.”
After defeating the Western Bulldogs by a thrilling 37 points in the elimination round, the Hawks advanced to the semifinals.
In response to Brodie Grundy, a former teammate from Collingwood who is currently a Sydney ruckman, celebrating the Swans’ victory over Greater Western Sydney in the qualifying final on Instagram, Hawthorn forward Jack Ginnivan wrote, “see u in 14 days”.
Although Ginnivan’s response had been observed, Drew denied that it had given Port any further inspiration.
“I don’t have much to say regarding that. I’m not too bothered by it,” he remarked.
“I suppose it’s up to individuals to do what they do and they can do whatever they want, so that’s fine.”
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