Friday Fallout: Did Zak Butters kiss his Brownlow chances goodbye?

Port Adelaide v Western Bulldogs

We were looking at the second draw in consecutive weeks in this thriller at Adelaide Oval, but the Dogs just managed to get over the line against Port.

Similarly to last week against Adelaide, Port Adelaide surged home but couldn’t get the job done. With just two minutes left on the clock, the score was tied up, but the Dogs were able to lock the ball inside their forward half and kick two crucial points to win the game.

Marcus Bontempelli shone for the Dogs yet again, playing through a serious right knee complaint. The Bont recorded 30 disposals, 10 tackles and one goal – serious numbers for a star playing on one leg.

While Zak Butters was the man that stepped up for Port, he had a brain fade in the final term, lining Joel Freijah up with a huge bump. The bump was high, off the ball, and he gave away a free kick for his act. We have seen players be suspended for a bump like this in the past…

A saving grace for Butters here could be that Freijah did continue to play out the game.

This will be a watch in the coming days, as the Brownlow Medal would take a huge blow if Butters were to be disqualified from the prestigious award.

In bad news for the Dogs though, Tim English may spend some more time on the sidelines after suffering a suspected concussion deep in the final quarter, ruling the ruckman out of the game.

With the Dogs now rising to five wins from nine games, let's see what the remainder of the season will hold for them.

Connor Scanlon

Fremantle v Hawthorn

Whenever Fremantle have been on a roll in recent years, they seem to do something that breaks people’s trust in them.

Their come-from-behind win (88-73) over fellow top-four hopeful Hawthorn in Perth may have just bolstered any dwindling faith.

If you were still doubting them, now’s the time to get on board and realise that this Freo team could genuinely contend at the pointy end in 2026.

They trailed by as much as 22 points in the third quarter, and when Jack Gunston booted his sixth goal to put the Hawks up by 19 points with 11 minutes remaining in the game, it looked like a bridge too far for Freo.

But what the Dockers produced thereafter was utterly explosive, banging on five goals in 11 minutes. Wharfie Time was absolutely electric, the locals were up and about.

Justin Longmuir has been criticised for being too boring or too vanilla in recent times, but not in 2026. JL has the Dockers humming.

This is a serious football team that has a plethora of scoring avenues, a mix of brutality and dynamism in the midfield (and ruck), and a rock solid defence that has build a strong foundation.

Luke Jackson is a proper footy unicorn, Caleb Serong, Andrew Brayshaw, Shai Bolton, Hayden Young and Murphy Reid is a very nice midfield mix, Alex Pearce, Brennan Cox, Luke Ryan, Jordan Clark and co. get the job done in defence while Josh Treacy, Jye Amiss, Patrick Voss, Isaiah Dudley and Michael Frederick do the damage inside forward 50.

That’s eight in a row with Essendon, St Kilda, Brisbane and North Melbourne to come before the bye. They could very well be 11-2 or 12-1.

Let’s not forget the Hawks though.

Sam Mitchell’s side moved the ball with speed and precision, particularly in the first half, feeding veteran Gunston who kicked five before half-time.

They had to deal with the loss of gun defender Tom Barrass to a hamstring in the second quarter which forced a reshuffle, sending Josh Weddle back to defence from the wing.

Eventually the dam wall broke and the floodgates opened late but prior to that they were good value for a big win on the road.

Sitting third with a record of 6-1-2 is a good return to date and they’re well placed to entrench themselves in the top six and even higher with a winnable block of games ahead consisting of Melbourne at the ‘G, Adelaide in Tassie, St Kilda and the Dogs.

Let’s hope Coleman leader Gunston’s moonboot exit was only precautionary...

Andrew Slevison