John Butcher Biography

John Butcher signs with SANFL club Central District for next year after being delisted by the Power at the end of the 2016 season.

Butcher is understood to be keen to have a strong season in the state league so he can use it as a springboard back to the elite level.

"(Coach) Roy (Laird) was in desperate need of a key forward and we set our sights on John," Central District chief executive Kris Grant told News Corp.

"Roy has always been impressed by him - he's a good strong mark, this year he kicked more goals than points and away from the pressure of the AFL next year it might even help that.

"And having met him, he is a very impressive person."

Port Adelaide parts ways with assistant coach Garry Hocking and delists John Butcher, Kane Mitchell and Sam Colquhoun.

"It’s a difficult time of year when the club needs to make decisions for its short and long-term future regarding our football structure," Port Adelaide’s general manager of football Chris Davies said.

"John, Kane and Sam have given great service to our club and we wish them all the best with their futures.

"Garry’s tenure at the club has been the most significant of our coaching panel.

"We thank him for his work since 2010 as a development, line coach and Magpies coach for two seasons."

John Butcher may avoid the chop at the end of the year after a four-goal display against Brisbane which included 20 disposals and 11 marks.

"It gives him some belief and confidence going forward, but there's a lot of work to do for John," Hinkley said.

"But for a bloke who's giving you what he's got, and trying his heart out, I think you'd give him a big pat on the back tonight and say 'well done John'."

The much-maligned forward has been in and out of the Port Adelaide senior side since his promising debut season in 2011, and despite being out of contract at the season's end, Hinkley would not be drawn on his future at the club.

"List decisions don't get made five rounds out," Hinkley said.

"I said it before we came up, people can play their five best games of their career in the last five, and that changes lots of things.

"That's not just John, that's anyone."

Power coach Ken Hinkley says John Butcher, who will play his first senior game for the club this week, will need to play with the intensity of injured forward Charlie Dixon.

"John's worked incredibly hard, he's stayed really positive. Charlie came to the club so that took away an opportunity for him and Schulzy got back probably just at the wrong time for John," Hinkley said.

"Now he's got his opportunity through Charlie's misfortune - I'm sure he'll make the most of it.

"It's easy for John, he's only got to watch Charlie because we're not talking about kicking lots of goals we're talking about creating contests and helping our small forwards.

"That's all we ask of him - bring his effort."

Port Adelaide will throw in seldom-used forward John Butcher for his first senior game in 2016 against Greater Western Sydney this week.

"John's been able to show the past three or four weeks his ability to give us a contest, hit the scoreboard and provide other people in the forward line to score,'' Power assistant coach Garry Hocking said.

''He hasn't whinged, he's gone about doing what he had to do at the Magpies for Chad (Magpies coach Chad Cornes).

"You'll see an excited player out there on Sunday.''

John Butcher is out of hospital but Port Adelaide teammate Jarrad Redden will remain, with tests confirming he too has viral meningitis.

John Butcher has been admitted to hospital with viral meningitis after.

Power teammate Jarrad Redden has also been sent to hospital with similar symptoms but his diagnosis has not been confirmed.

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley insists the club still has faith in tall forward John Butcher, despite the 22-year-old again being dropped from the side due to a lack of form.

"He's a work in progress, he's had a great pre-season, he's taken some good steps forward, he just needs to be a bit more influential in the game when we need him most," Hinkley said.

"We need him to fulfill that role of being a target player for us to go to a little bit more.

"I'm sure he can still do that, I'm not losing faith in John. It's just that sometimes it takes some time away, [to] work on some stuff and come back and do those things."

Angus Monfries backs under-fire teammate John Butcher to get over his kicking yips.

The 22-year-old has come under much scrutiny in recent seasons for his inability to convert when in range and his awkward set shot, in which he appears to have little control of the ball as he drops it to his foot.

"Butcher's been working on that, he's been working at training on kicking the goals and he's been really good at that," Monfries said.

"Hopefully all the practice he's been putting in can come into fruition on the weekend. You've got to back your players in – Butcher's been working on it and I'm sure they'll come off."

Power coach Ken Hinkley says John Butcher must overcome several challenges to become a valuable member of the side.

"His kicks are a little bit off and on at times, and we know that," Hinkley said.

"I've said that publicly that John's kick has that kink in it, and we just deal with it.

"As long as he can deal with that pressure – and that's the hardest thing, I reckon, dealing with that pressure – he's OK.

"He adds a lot to our football side when he's up and going. He's never been fit. That's the key ingredient for John. He's always battled with his body a bit.

"If he can get that fit, and we think he's got to a reasonably good shape at this point of the season, we're hopeful he can have a good year."

Jay Schulz says the Power forward line is a lot more imposing with John Butcher in the side despite the young forward playing well below his best last week against Geelong.

"I know that our midfielders with their ball use looking up the ground and seeing me and Butch there instead of just me, it gives them a lot more confidence," Schulz said.

"They know that when the ball hits the ground or in the air he's going to attack it as best he can."

Fresh from signing a new deal with the Power, John Butcher says he is fit and ready to go whenever the side needs him.

"I felt like I had a really solid six weeks post Christmas throughout February…the hips have so far pulled up well from everything and each step we've taken they've coped really well," Butcher said.

"The first three years probably haven't quite been what I've wanted and I haven't been able to get out on the track as much as I need to, but hopefully, touch wood, the next three will be a whole lot better.

"When I do get out there, whether it's this week or not, I'm pretty confident in the body and ready to go."

Port Adelaide sign four key players in Alipate Carlile, Jackson Trengove, John Butcher and Andrew Moore.

"With all four of these talented young players committing to the club together, it's just a great show of faith in what we're trying to do and where we're heading," coach Ken Hinkley said.

"Each one of them in their own way brings something special to the group. Jacko (Trengove) is a strong voice and a really solid person, Bobby (Carlile) loves to help people as is evidenced by the multicultural work he does outside the club and Moorey (Moore) and Butch (Butcher) are just great people to have around the footy club."

After recovering from hip surgery, John Butcher will play his first game for 2013 this Saturday in a trial game against Sydney.

"The important thing for him was to get a little bit of a taste (of football) and give himself a chance to be available for round one. This is his only opportunity to play against AFL standard," Power coach Ken Hinkley said.

"He's really excited, obviously he's had a long lay off and he's been back training and playing footy for a little while, so now it's a matter of stepping him up to the next level and what a great opportunity against the Swans."

The Power remain interested in troubled forward Liam Jurrah and Port Adelaide forward John Butcher is excited by the prospect of playing alongside him.

"[He's] one of the most exciting players in the AFL," Butcher said.

"It'd be great to have him running around in the forward line alongside you.

"But obviously that's up to the club, I think 'Kenny's' (Ken Hinkley) pretty keen to see him train or have a look at him, obviously interview him and meet with him again."

Brent Renouf defends out-of-form teammate John Butcher, backing the big forward to return to form soon.

"When he's running and jumping into packs and clunking marks we'll back him in to do that all day, so he'll have a good week on the track and he'll fight back this weekend," Renouf said.

"I don't think anything was wrong, it was just the way it happened."

John Butcher says his younger brother Danny, recruited at pick 21 in the rookie draft, will help bring a new hard edge to the Power.

"He's as hard as a cat's head. His attack on the ball is crazy, I can't believe him," John Butcher said about Danny Butcher.

"He runs all day, he's really quick and he's very courageous, so he'll fit in really well here."

John Butcher has re-signed with Port Adelaide, resisting the move to return home to Victoria.

"I said four weeks ago I was going to wait until the end of the year and it's the end of the year now. It was all over pretty quick and easy in the end," Butcher said.

"I'm just stoked to get another contract because four weeks ago I don't think anyone had heard of my name, especially back home [in Victoria]."

After impressing in just three AFL games, out-of-contract Power forward John Butcher has attracted plenty of interest from Victorian clubs.

"He's kicked 10 goals in two weeks and the phone's been busy," Butcher's manager Paul Connors said.

"I'm flying to Adelaide and will have discussions with John and Port Adelaide but at this stage, we won't be having any formal negotiations until the end of the season."

Promising Port Adelaide forward John Butcher is the latest to delay contract negotiations until season's end after making his AFL debut against Hawthorn in Round 21.

"At the moment, I've only played one AFL game so my contract hasn't been something I've really thought about," Butcher said.

"My main focus has been getting over my injuries and getting out there. It was a proud moment to get out there and play my first game. At the end of the season, I'm sure I'll sit down with my family, my manager and the club and work something out."

John Butcher makes his AFL debut for Port Adelaide at the MCG with 8 disposals (4 kicks and 4 handballs), 6 marks, 3 tackles and a goal in a 165-point loss to Hawthorn.

Young forward John Butcher is progressing well in his second pre-season despite easing back on his training load.

"In the three weeks prior to this week Butch - a bit like Hamish Hartlett - had probably done more in terms of the volume of training than he has in any three-week period in the last two years," Port Adelaide fitness coach Cam Falloon said.

"Hopefully, he'll have a pretty good run at it leading into Christmas and then we'll re-assess in January, but at this stage he's going well."

Cameron Hitchcock is elevated to Port Adelaide's senior list to replace John Butcher meaning former Blue Cameron Cloke remains a rookie due to David Rodan's remarkable recovery from a knee injury.

"I had a meeting with Choc last night and he told me that the club was going to upgrade me today," Hitchcock said.

"I've really enjoyed playing so far in the NAB Cup and this is a great opportunity for me."

John Butcher and David Rodan are place on Port Adelaide's long-term injury list allowing the likes of former Blue Cameron Cloke and livewire forward Cameron Hitchcock to likely be elevated to Port Adelaide's primary list.

"We'll definitely upgrade someone in the next two weeks. Cloke and Hitchcock are the two that are at the forefront now. It'll depend on needs and who we're playing that week, but both of them have shown enough form to get upgraded," Power coach Williams said.

First-round draft pick John Butcher will play no part for Port Adelaide in its NAB Cup campaign after suffering a back injury.

"John had back problems a couple of years ago. When we brought him here we put him on a program to keep the strength in his back, but being a long, tall, thin bloke he's going to be prone to back soreness until we strengthen him up," Power football operations manager Peter Rohde said.

"He's had all the tests done and the injury is nothing major. There's no fracture there but he's getting some soreness, so it's a warning sign that he needs to ease back. We'll have to build him up and condition him quite slowly."

Port Adelaide's top draft pick John Butcher says he will work with coach Mark Williams to improve his goalkicking that saw him slide from a potential top pick to No. 8 in the 2009 NAB AFL draft.

"I've got an indifferent ball drop, but the statistics probably show up a little bit better than what people made out this year," Butcher said.

"I don't think my kicking is too much of a problem. Even just training six or seven days a week [compared to one] is going to improve my kicking a lot. I haven't really had a pre-season over the last two years, so I'll be looking to get in plenty of practice."

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says his club will use pick No.8 to select Gippsland forward John Butcher with a view to eventually replacing club stalwart Warren Tredrea.

"I saw him play a few games and he needs to work on his kicking there's no doubt, but he can pick the ball up off the ground and he could develop into a really great forward," Williams said.

"He can take a contested mark. He jumps into packs and knocks people over."