Alastair Clarkson has made North Melbourne's interest in Zak Butters plain, saying the club is one of 17 chasing the Port Adelaide midfielder as the Kangaroos try to stay in the frame for one of the AFL's biggest names.
Clarkson travelled to Adelaide ahead of North Melbourne's bye this weekend and told 7NEWS the club is not pretending otherwise. Asked about the Butters chase, he said: "I think there are 17 clubs interested in Zak Butters," before adding that North were working hard to improve as a football club and hoping their form lifts in the second half of the year.
The Kangaroos went into last weekend with four wins, then beat Gold Coast, a small step for a club that has spent most of the past six seasons at the wrong end of the ladder. North finished 16th or lower in each of those years, a run that has left them needing more than optimism when the trade and free agency market opens up again.
Clarkson said his trip to Adelaide was also tied to family in the city, but his message on list management was as direct as the club's position allows. Asked whether North were being more aggressive than other sides ahead of the off-season, he said the Kangaroos were "no different" and that every club wants to make its list better.
That includes the pursuit of Butters, who is due to become a restricted free agent at the end of this year and has delayed any call on his future until then. He told reporters on Wednesday that he is closing in on a decision and that it is a heavy one to make, saying: "It’s obviously a big decision," and that "there’s emotion attached to it" whichever way he goes.
The 22-year-old Port Adelaide star is widely tipped to land at the Western Bulldogs, where he grew up supporting the club and has a personal relationship with captain Marcus Bontempelli. Geelong has also been linked to him, which leaves North trying to hold ground in a contest that already looks crowded.
The Butters chase is not the only one on North's board. They have also been heavily linked with Adelaide defender Jordan Butts, the 26-year-old who is out of contract at the end of 2026, a reminder that the Kangaroos are combing the market from more than one angle as they try to turn the corner.
For Clarkson, the task is less about selling a dream than proving one exists. North's improved results are starting to give them a case, but the real test will come later in the year, when Butters has to choose whether the pull of home, loyalty and opportunity is enough to keep him from the open market.
